As we leap in to 2024, with lots of exciting plans for this year's activities, it is always good to take a moment of reflection. What a year we had last year with the 2023 Feel Good Festival; More than 3000 engagements across the programme made it our best year yet, and we were delighted to receive civic recognition alongside partners Lochwinnoch Arts Festival from Renfrewshire Council. Here are some of the highlights including some great photography.
Our Feel Good Fortnight programme was a hit and there was a real buzz over the two weeks which saw a wide range of activities and as usual, offered something for everyone. We were so grateful to digital agency Bright Signals which produced our new-look design work. The flyers looked great.
The fortnight ran from 4th - 17th September and we extended the number of partners we work with; This time we were able to offer foraging walks and fermenting talks; The Art & Earth Collective, Art Trail was a great addition. The menopause workshops were really popular too.
We ran a 14 day programme of free movement and breathing classes which lots of people got involved in. The warm weather at the start of the programme allowed these mostly to take place outside and included Tai Chi; Pilates; Various types of yoga including Thai Hermit Yoga lead by Master Tan; Connected Movement classes with Jane Simpson; And an online Pranayama class with Ivonne Payne, practicing Uyaii breathing.
The Feel Good Family Day was a great success and many people found their way to Lochwinnoch park to enjoy entertainment, food and stalls with great performances by local bands including local samba band Bloco Winnoch. We also hosted a Capoeira workshop with Glasgow Capoeira, which has led to a more recent series of well attended classes for kids. St Vincent's Hospice ran a kilo sale and Music Broth and ReMode were there running workshops; There were a wide range of community organisations with stalls and Paisley Community Circus came along as well. Lots of people enjoyed our Storytelling and Therapy Tents and our free Soundbath too; This event was a great way to bring people together and build community.
Photo credits to our amazing photographers Zul Bhatia, Jacqui Quigg and Open Aye.
Saturday 16th was a busy day with our Wellbeing Fair in the morning followed by a great night of fun at LOCHstock and an Arts Festival gig as well. Master Tan and his students visited again from across Europe. Their hard working Team together with local therapists gave free massage taster treatments at the McKillop and we had lots of great stalls. Many people enjoyed the workshops in confidence building, soundbaths and yoga. We even hosted a shamanic workshop.
Photo credits to Zul Bhatia, Jacqui Quigg and Diana Finn.
The rest of the programme was filled up with a diverse range of workshops and classes which engaged high numbers and introduced many people to completely new activities.
Photo credits Zul Bhatia, Jacqui Quigg and Open Aye.
Thanks to everyone who filled out an evaluation survey helping us to assess the impact of the festival. We ran two surveys to measure the impact for the people within the wider community, but we were also interested to know how the festival benefitted local organisations. Those results showed us that 96% of the 83 respondents felt that participation had boosted their wellbeing in a way that would benefit them longer term. All 22 organisations that completed our survey felt that taking part had benefitted their organisation in some way.
Acknowledgements
Our 2023 festival would not have been possible without a wide range of funders, sponsors and local people who through volunteer work made it possible. Renfrewshire Council. Engage Renfrewshire along with National Lottery Community-Led fund all contributed significantly. Our list of sponsors helped us to run a number of events too. They include: Freight Design, Jet Cut Ltd; Paul Hewitson Kitchen & Bathrooms; Power Garage Doors; The Brown Bull; West Auchenhean Holiday Cottage; Linthills Ltd; Kibble; LEAP Car Club; Affluent Financial Planning.
We also had help from Alter Landscapes, Gateside Plant Centre, Stretch Tent Scotland, Field & Lawn, Ardrossan Community Development Trust, Gordon & Coral Wright, Boutique 71, The Three Churches, Lochwinnoch Gala Committee, The Wee Shop, Thamma Thai Wellness, LOVE Woodland and Lochwinnoch Golf Club with loan of equipment, venue space and help selling raffle tickets.
Massive thanks also go to all the organisations who donated raffle prizes. There is a very long list of individuals who helped out or offered discounts on their services and we're grateful to everyone of you.
2024
We can't wait to share details of our 2024 programme with you. We'll be updating our events page soon. In the mean time we would love to hear from any practitioners or potential partner hosts who would like to get involved in any of the following. If you're interested please contact us at feelgood@myleapproject.org:
Feel Good Fortnight 10th - 26th May (including Wellbeing Fair 18th May)
We're looking for anyone who wants to put on a class, workshop or activity that would contribute in any way toward wellbeing. We are also looking for Therapists and Vendors of wellbeing products and services. We can't wait to welcome the Tan Massage Academy Members and Master Tan himself back this year from Switzerland, Germany, London and Lochwinnoch!
Feel Good Gathering 24th August
We're looking for Therapists for our Therapy Tent; Vendors of food and retail items; Hosts who can deliver workshops; Sponsors, Community Groups and Support Organisations to take pitches.