Tall tales on the way to the Eden Valley & Penrith from local schools

Penrith is preparing for a giant May Day invasion (Mon 2 May.)

Nineteen twelve-feet tall puppets will be making their way into town from schools such as Armathwaite, Calthwaite and Plumpton and from Shap taking in Penrith, Kirkby Thore, Culgaith and others.

The puppets will bring pupils from each area to tell the story of their notoriety.
The giants will give their performances in two groups starting at 11am and 12.30 pm in St Andrew’s churchyard.

Characters include Wicked Jimmy, Tom the shepherd boy, a knight of the round table, the Croglin Vampire, the Monocled Mutineer and the Bishop of Carlisle.

The puppets have been created by Dawn Hurton with costumes by fashion graduate Jessica Mills.

Each school has been working on their local story with the help of master storyteller, Dominic Kelly.

The project is funded by Heritage Lottery Fund.

It celebrates the rich oral traditions, characters, history and heritage of Penrith and the surrounding areas and brings schools together as a community

Dawn Hurton, Extended Services Adviser, Cumbria County Council, is co-ordinating the project in partnership with PenrithAction for Community Transition.
Dawn said:
“I believe that stories can connect us with the landscape. They are part of the richness and diversity in our daily lives which can be overlooked.
This project celebrates the things that are particular to our area while having a lot of fun in the process.
I encourage people to come and listen to the next generationtelling some of the stories that used to be told around the fire.”

The May Day activities are being kindly supported by St Andrew’s church and the Lions.
More details can be found at http://www.penrithact.org.uk/story-giants.