Celebrating local and sustainable at Farnham’s Wellbeing and Sustainability Festival

Local people are invited to celebrate a more sustainable way of life for the planet, community and personal wellbeing at this year’s Wellbeing and Sustainability Festival on Sunday 17 May.

This year’s festival has evolved from its core focus on sustainability and will incorporate wellbeing. This will include mind and body healing and fitness stalls as well as children’s mental health and activities zone with information available on help and support.

With over 50 stalls, Gostrey Meadow will be divided into zones so that visitors can home in on their area of interest. There will be areas dedicated to community, craft, retail, food and drink, and wellbeing.

In the sustainability demonstration tent, there will be an introduction to sourdough for beginners, how to take steps towards a plastic free life and natural refills. Over in the wellbeing area, visitors will be able to learn more about physiotherapy, strength fitness, reflexology and vibroacoustic sound healing.

New for this year is a special craft-themed activity. Participants will be able to paint and engrave mouth-blown coloured glass in a hands-on workshop exploring the endangered craft of traditional stained glass. Guided by Surrey Artist of the Year 2014, Rachel Mulligan, the session will draw inspiration from patterns found in Farnham’s architecture and surrounding landscape. The workshop is organised by the New Ashgate Gallery in partnership with Farnham Town Council and supported by the South Street Trust.

Iain Lynch, Town Clerk at Farnham Town Council says: “If you have never visited the festival, I really encourage you to come along as there is always such a lovely positive atmosphere. There is a real sense of community with the emphasis being very much on sharing knowledge about the little things we can all do to reduce our impact on the environment.”

Farnham Wellbeing and Sustainability Festival takes place from 11am to 4pm at Gostrey Meadow and is run as a partnership between Farnham Town Council and Farnham Community Farm. To see the list of stallholders and details about the zones, visit www.farnham.gov.uk.