NEWTON SCHOOL:ART, CARNIVAL AND PROCESSION

Surrounded by fields, hedgerows and gentle hills, Newton School sits on a winding lane between Dalton and Barrow in Furness.
Every year the school takes part in Dalton Carnival, the children make models or banners or decorate a float and parade through town .
These videos by Elizabeth Sampson from the Twitchers band give a real flavour of the day..




https://youtu.be/c3UX-ZJlZho

https://youtu.be/tb4o59n9S0c

These pictures show some of the work we've made with the school for carnival. The theme was flags and banners, and the boys and girls made stencil images of the beasts that roam their gardens and playing 
fields. 

The tradition of Whit Walks and May Day events is still alive, as Doc Rowe's work makes clear. In many areas the symbolism of the old fair days is less evident, although the impetus to gather and show off another version of local -and 
personal- identity survives in the present parades and carnivals. Barrow, Dalton and Ulverston all have their own

events. Dalton was once the centre of trade in the area, it's market days  would itself have developed from seasonal gatherings and attracted a fringe of traders and sideshows. In Ulverston the Hiring Fair on the Gill was the focus,  this space eventually came to be the site of a larger evening event, following a parade of costumes and floats from local businesses, totemic builds and elaborate costumes that  imbued spectacle with an echo of former ceremony and celebration. 

Many of the uncertainties that were fostered by the old hiring systems have returned, and their effects are apparent. The size and energy of these local events is often affected by economics. There have been some muted years, some gloriously defiant splashes of bravado, and sometimes there have been doubts that the events will go ahead at all but the tradition continues.  
  Dalton Carnival is enjoying a revival, the whole town gets involved and the gathering is again one of the big days in the calendar. With the help of their teachers, parents and friends of the school, Newton's boys and girls come down the hill into  and walk with Dalton's schools, traders, church and community groups to show off their skills and take their place in the public life of the town.The streets are lined with people who wave and applaud and then follow the procession to its conclusion, a gathering of floats and banners in a field in the centre of town. At this point, the sense of continuity is tangible.


Unless it absolutely hoys it down. Sometimes the weather changes unexpectedly and the event is pulled. Newton then roll up their flags and floats and whatever till the clouds clear, and the schoolchildren parade through their village. There is something intimate and appropriate about this; it emphasises the place the school occupies within this small village, and sends its' energy, colour and laughter to circulate through the streets and lanes.
This year we went along in support, bringing up the rear with a  pair of Backpack organists. 
Rain may have stopped play in Dalton, but there was a parade in 2017, just up the hill at Newton.

https://vimeo.com/227590950

We are very proud of our continuing relationship with Newton School.. 
There's more from a previous project here with writer Kate Davies at Dalton Castle here..

http://www.bifocals2013.com/education/4589880525

..and more pictures below...our thanks to the
 Sir John Fisher Foundation for their valuable support for our schools projects.