WE Make Our City

Mander Centre Community Hub

Mon 2nd – Sat 7th Aug 2021

10am – 3pm

Join us for playful & connecting activities

The WE team will be hosting our residency at the Mander Centre Community Hub and we’d love you to join us.

WE will create a safe and welcoming space where we can begin to reconnect with each other from Mon 2nd – Sat 7th August. WE will holding the space for people across Wolverhampton to run and take part in activities.

We are aiming to hold two activities per day, with plenty of unscheduled time for relaxed & informal conversations. If you would like to run an activity, please get in touch!

Mindful of the current situation, we will be doing everything we can to keep everyone using the space as Covid safe as possible.

How To Find Us

? WE Make Our City takes place primarily in the the Mander Centre Community Hub.

The unit is situated on the ground floor between PSDA and Bon March (and opposite YMCA).

The nearest entrance in on Victoria Street (opposite Beatties). You’ll find us a few shops down on the left.

 

 

Opening Times

? We’ll be the Mander Centre Commuity Hub between 10am and 3pm, Monday 2nd August – Saturday 7th.

You can find the timetable of activities below, but feel free to drop in any time for a chat in our public living room.

Keeping Each Other Safe

Whilst we’re excited to be connecting face to face again, we’re well aware that Covid hasn’t gone away.

Let’s keep each other safe

When you join us for #WEMakeOurCity we will do everything we can to help keep each other safe:

 ?? We are limiting numbers inside the Community Hub to ensure spatial distancing

 ?? We are using NHS Test and Trace – please scan the QR code when you arrive, or let us know if you can’t

 ?? We are asking that you wear a face covering if you can

 ?? We are encouraging people to take lateral flow tests before visiting

 ?? We appreciate that Govt Covid guidance has changed, but let’s do all we can to keep each other safe by working together and playing our part ??

 

Refreshments

Providing refreshments in a Covid-safe way isn’t easy, but we’ve got a plan!

☕ We’ll be providing visitors with a drinks token so you can grab a take-away tea or coffee on us from a local coffee shop Tony’s Deli, just around the corner in Queen Square.

? The fabulous K Teas Cakes will be providing us with some delicious cupcakes for you to enjoy.

? The Mander Centre has a HydraChill water refill station where you can refill your own reusable water bottle for free! (located on the ground floor next to the toilets / car park entrance)

What’s On?

Here’s what we’ll be up to over the week ???? Just tap / click on the tabs to learn more and come and get involved!

All Week: 2nd – 7th Aug / 10am – 3pm

Public Living Room

When: Mon – Sat / 10am – 3pm

What: Public Living Room

? Camerados

Created by Camerados, our public living room is a comfortable place where anyone can come, on good days and bad, to be around people, make connections and enjoy being out of the house. There’s cake too!

How to take part: Just drop in. Places limited to 20 people, first come, first serve.

Sharing Station

When: Mon – Sat / 10am – 3pm

What: Sharing Station

Bring an item of clothing or book that you no longer need and take an item that you or someone you know would use.

Even if you don’t have an item to share, please feel free to take something useful to you!

What if there was a book share on your street? How might we convene a ShareFest in the City where no money changes hands? We would love to hear your ideas!

*Hand sanitizer will be available to use when swapping.

How to take part: Just drop in. Places limited to 20 people, first come, first serve.

Activation Station

When: Mon – Sat / 10am – 3pm

What: What if you could turn that idea to run something in your street into reality?

We would love you to share your idea with us to help you connect with others, or explore what is standing in your way.

Complete an Activation Canvas or we could look at it together, come and chat with the team over a coffee.

How to take part: Just drop in. Places limited to 20 people, first come, first serve.

Be a roaming Detectorist

When: Mon – Sat / 10am – 3pm

What: Detectorism is a made up word for the learning side of doing. It is a form of continuous learning. It is a way of being curious in the world, paying attention to patterns at a range of scales, and experimenting with ways to reveal our collective insights (or what we call treasure) to inform our learning and designs for future experiments in Wolverhampton.

Being a Detectorist is about observing and experiencing an activity, gathering treasure and spotting patterns, and sharing these openly.

This can be done in many different ways. With Detectorists from all kinds of backgrounds and with different experiences and talents, we hope to encourage a city-wide culture of curiosity and experimentation.

We would love you to come along and be a detectorist for an, day or all week!

As a roaming detectorist your magic power is to capture the things you see, hear, smell, feel and wonder about as you experience WE Make Our City 2021.

Once you have finished capturing all your findings, hand back your journal to one of the Wolverhampton for Everyone team. If you would prefer to hold onto it we can simply take photos of what you have discovered.

Thank you so much for being so curious and being such an important part of the shared learning and dreaming for a people-powered Wolverhampton.

How to take part: Just drop in.

Monday 2nd Aug

Bunting Making

When: Mon 2 Aug, 11:30am – 12:30pm

What: Bunting Making

Karen Baker works in a school and set-up her own small crafting enterprise making beautiful bunting, called The Bunting Room.

She offered two online workshops for those who couldn’t join in person and is also offering this crafting session in our Activities area for WE Make Our City.

In this session you will be able to make a flag or two to add to the community bunting hanging in the shop!

How to take part: Just drop in. Places limited to 20 people, first come, first serve.

Wolves Play Café

When: Mon 2 Aug, 12:30pm – 2:30pm

What: Wolves Play Café

‘We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing’. Come with your big and little ones and have fun playing in our wonderful city as part of Wolverhampton For Everyone’s #WEMakeOurCityFest fun and free activities!

How to take part: Just drop in. Places limited to 20 people, first come, first serve.

TUESDAY 3RD Aug

Family Yoga

When: Tues 3 Aug, 11:30am – 12:30pm

What: The Beehive presents Family Yoga

Becci Bradley from The Beehive in Sedgley joins us for a fun hour of family yoga! As a yoga teacher she is passionate about the benefits of a regular practice – yoga is for everyone, from babies to the elderly. This class is for children and their carers to enjoy together, learning some postures, stretches, breathing techniques and balance (that’s the fun part!). Recommended ages from 4-10 but entirely up to parents discretion.

How to take part: Just drop in. Places limited to 20 people, first come, first serve.

Messy Paint & Play

When: Tues 3 Aug, 1pm – 3pm

What: Messy Paint & Play

Join artist and facilitator Kristina Hall for a messy play & painting session; created to provide young children with the time and space to explore art materials. Kristina invites those who are young and young at heart to come along and get messy with play and art.

This activity gives everyone the space and time to explore art materials. Be prepared to get messy!

Kristina Hall is an artist part of the Asylum Artist collective. To view her most recent work, please visit kristinahall.co.uk. To view Asylum’s programme of events and exhibitions, please visit theasylumartgallery.com

How to take part: Just drop in. Places are limited to 15 children between the ages 0-5; an adult must accompany each child.

Wednesday 4th Aug

Street Wisdom

When: Weds 4 Aug, 10:30am – 1:30pm

What: Street Wisdom: A three-hour guided experience where you can learn how to access the urban environment and find fresh answers to your questions.

Find out how you can use the streets of Wolverhampton city centre to find answers to all kinds of questions with Street Wisdom.

Street Wisdom is a three-hour guided experience that uses the streets as an invisible university. At the centre of Street Wisdom lies the idea that every moment is extraordinary and every street is full of inspiration – that there is no such thing as an ordinary street, just ordinary thinking.

Bring your own question or you might like to try using some What If? questions to help to shape our city.

Visit: www.streetwisdom.org or on Twitter @StreetWisdom_ to explore more.

How to take part: Book your place here

Improve your Digital Skills

When: Weds 4 Aug, 1:30pm – 3pm

What: A 90 min drop in surgery where you can get support with digital skills.

Have you got an annoying problem with your smartphone or tablet? Do you need help setting up an email address or finding out how to video call your relatives?

Come along to this digital skills surgery with IT trainer James to get some support and advice.

How to take part: Just drop in. Places limited to 8 people, first come, first serve.

Thursday 5th Aug

Fun with “Five Animal” Qigong

When: Thurs 5 Aug, 10:30am – 11:30am

What: Fun with “Five Animal” Qigong with Sue Guest

“Tiger! Deer! Bear! Monkey! Bird!”

OK, so not quite the Furious Five from “Kung Fu Panda” but come along and have a go at the traditional Chinese exercise of qigong, inspired by the characteristics of these five animals.

The system of the “Five Animal” exercises was designed by a leading physician of the Eastern Han Dynasty whose inspiration came from the careful observation and study of the characteristic behaviour of animals.

So, are you ready to channel the courage and robustness of your inner Tiger (grrrrr!!!) the serenity and poise of the Deer, the steadiness and solidity of the Bear, the nimbleness and dexterity of the Monkey and the swiftness and grace of the Bird?

How to take part: Just drop in. Places limited to 20 people, first come, first serve.

Sharing Stories with Tonia

When: Thurs 5 Aug, 1pm – 3pm

What: Tonia Daley-Campbell will be telling, listening and sharing stories with people. She is inviting everyone to come along to share their stories of living in Wolverhampton

Tonia invites you to join her as she shares stories around her experiences and memories of growing up in Wolverhampton. You will also have an opportunity to hear extracts from her book ’39 steps to 40’.

Bring and share your stories for this cosy chat on the sofa alongside Tonia. Between 2pm – 3pm Tonia will be focusing on gathering Wolverhampton Windrush stories, inviting anyone assoicated with the Windrush generation to bring their stories of moving to Wolverhampton.

Tonia will be joined by Andrea Green who will accompany Tonia with songs from Caribbean folk tradition.

How to take part: Just drop in. Places limited to 20 people, first come, first serve.

Friday 6th Aug

Camerados

When: Fri 6 Aug, 10:30am – 2:30pm

Where: Queen Square (Man On The Horse) / Dudley St

What: Life can be a bit pants… but Camerados know it’s better when we’re together. Come and join us in Queen Square. You can dance, take great selfies, smash piñatas and more… or you can just have a chat to us and others.

#BeACamerado…. When we have fun together it makes a difference.

Find out more here.

How to take part: Just come and find the Camerados in the city centre!

Wolves Play Café

When: Fri 6 Aug, 10:30am

What: Wolves Play Café

‘We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing’. Come with your big and little ones and have fun playing in our wonderful city as part of Wolverhampton For Everyone’s #WEMakeOurCityFest fun and free activities!

How to take part: Just drop in. Places limited to 20 people, first come, first serve.

Street Activators Chat

When: Fri 6 Aug, 1:30pm – 2:30pm 

What: A discussion about how we could work together, with others on our streets and in our neighbourhoods to run activities and help create kinder and better connected City

How to take part: Just drop in. Places limited to 20 people, first come, first serve.

Grow Your Own

When: Fri 6 Aug, 10:30am – 11:30am

What: Grow Your Own

Caroline is inviting you to pop along and plant some seeds to take home and nurture. Grow your own simple salad or herbal tea!

How to take part: Just drop in. Places limited to 20 people, first come, first serve.

Saturday 7th Aug

Wolves Play Café

When: Sat 7 Aug, 10:30am

What: Wolves Play Café

‘We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing’. Come with your big and little ones and have fun playing in our wonderful city as part of Wolverhampton For Everyone’s #WEMakeOurCityFest fun and free activities!

How to take part: Just drop in. Places limited to 20 people, first come, first serve.

We are grateful for support from the Co-op Foundation and DCMS Space to Connect programme to help us offer support for curiosity and creativity to reconnect people and places while we look towards the pandemic easing.

We are also developing activity as part of Creative Black Country’s F Words season, a programme of fun, fabulous, feel-good activities that look to bring people together across the Black Country.