30 May T100, Thurrock’s Festival of Walking, Talking & Making is back for 2023
Taking place from the 21 June to 9 July, the T100 Sounds will feature a series of fourteen free walks, engaging talks, wonderful workshops and exciting community celebrations along the Thames Estuary. This year’s programme includes a newly-commissioned audio installation, ‘Thurrock Soundscape’, a night of shanties at Thurrock Yacht Club and Windrush 75 celebrations, plus much more. T100 Sounds is the ninth edition of this annual arts festival and all walks are free to attend due to the generous funders of T100.
T100 Sounds launches on Wednesday 21 June with a special summer solstice walk of RSPB Rainham Marshes, led by a seasoned guide, where walkers will be able to fully take in beautiful birdsong and nature. Over the next two and a half weeks, 13 more walks will criss-cross Thurrock taking in towns, villages and green spaces, with each event highlighting the local landscape and unique stories of the area through its sounds. Those joining T100 Sounds this year can tune into performances by local musicians and bands as well as hear poems, songs and more, all celebrating the local area.
Highlights of this year’s festival include:
● 22 June: T100 will be walking with pupils from Gateway Academy on a closed walk to the Port of Tilbury for students to take part in Windrush 75 celebrations. Students will fly T100 flags high, and join in the activities at the port marking the day that HMT Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury docks in 1948 bringing more than 800 passengers from the Carribean, a moment that shaped modern Britain.
● 24 June: Walking ‘Uni-Verse’, a lyrical walk from Coalhouse Fort to Tilbury Fort featuring wandering musicians. Led by artist Phil Easteal, walkers will journey along the estuary path, stopping to recite poems, read short passages of prose, or sing songs. The combined audio patchworks of these individual contributions will add up to a ‘Uni-Verse’, a single-verb collaboration reflecting the local environment. Book now.
● Saturday 1 July, the ‘Rolling Down the River’ walk from Tilbury to Grays will explore the area’s rich historical and cultural significance, maritime heritage and folk tales along the way. The walk will culminate at Thurrock Yacht Club for a Shanty Night, with live performances from local shanty bands! Book Now.
● Friday 7 & Saturday 8 July, walks on both these days allow attendees to explore a variety of landscapes and sounds along the route, as well as experience a newly-commissioned soundscape created by filmmaker, researcher, educator and artist Fotis Begklis alongside the local community, in St Clement’s Church – known for its appearance in Four Weddings and a Funeral – an experience not to be missed.
● Sunday 9 July, T100 Sounds finale, with the Purfleet Circular Walk returning to High House Production Park for a spectacular finale. Once at High House Production Park, T100 Festival will join Colourscape Festival, an inflatable walk-through sculpture of colour and light combined with a programme of musicians from across Thurrock. Music on the day will be provided by The Calmers, William Palmer Trust, Goodnight Crow, North Ockendon Handbell Ringers and other performers and musicians from the local are. There will also be a range of family-friendly activities taking place across the park, including activities at the new natural dye community garden, the Garden of Delight. Book Now.
Partners in the festival this year include Arts Outburst, Chelmsford 100, English Heritage, Thurrock CVS, START: Thurrock, Essex Wildlife Trust, Thurrock Lifestyle Solutions, to name a few, plus local schools and businesses, community volunteers and other arts organisations.
All T100 Sounds walks are free to attend and can be explored and booked via: https://t100festival.co.uk/2023-walks/.
Please note that the Colourscape Festival is an additional activity to the T100 Purfleet Circular walk (which is free) and requires a small fee (£2.50 for adults, £1 for children) to attend. All walks in the festival programme are led by experienced guides and Kinetika stewards. Everyone is welcome to join in and enjoy T100 Festival.
