Crafters come together to put the magic of Houghton on the map

A new community project is putting the magic of Houghton on the map.

To celebrate this year's centuries-old Houghton Feast, a group of crafters have come together to create a fabric map of the historic town - stitched with the places, memories and moments that mean the most to the community.

The annual 10 day festival, with its rich history dating back to the 12th century, began life as a dedication to the parish church of St Michael & All Angels which was celebrated at Michaelmas and the ancient church continues to be at the heart of Houghton Feast.

This year's feast begins on Friday 3 October and runs through until Sunday 12 October with 'The 'Magic of Houghton' as its theme.

And it was this theme that inspired Reverend Claire Cullingworth from St Michael & All Angels, to come up with the idea of a textile map celebrating the community's favourite spaces and memories.

Claire explained: "I've always been interested in maps because they make you see places in a different way. And I've seen people online sewing maps and thought - that looks like such a cool project. 

"So when I heard that the the theme of this year's Houghton Feast was the Magic of Houghton, I thought we if we could make a map, we could capture people's magical places and memories of it and that would be amazing."

Volunteer Beth is among the dedicated band of volunteers who have been getting together twice weekly at Space4 in Newbottle Street, and St Michael & All Angels Church in recent weeks, to work on the map. Speaking about her involvement in the project, she said: "I think it's really lovely especially as its such a positive thing to do.

"There's so much in the community that's challenging at the moment, but to be challenged to think about positive and happy things and to start conversations with other people about their memories as well, it's been a really lovely experience."

So far around 80 people have come forward to share their memories, with each memory being lovingly stitched into the map, with a star to mark its location and the memories people have submitted, neatly stored in an accompanying folder. 

Claire added:  "We've had some lovely memories, lots of Houghton Feast related ones, people remember being taken there by their grandparents when they were kids and the fireworks and a lot of favourite places are community related and lot of nature related place too.

 "There's also still time for anyone who wants to add their memories to the map, to do so. I'll be in St Michael's Church all day on Saturday 3 October, as part of the church coffee morning and market for anyone who wants to pop along."

Once finished, the map will be displayed in the church.

Councillor Beth Jones, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Tourism at Sunderland City Council, said: "Houghton Feast has been bringing our community together for centuries and it's wonderful to see that tradition continuing to this day with fantastic projects like this.

"It's brilliant to see people from across the community coming together to take part in this unique community project by offering their memories of some of the magical places around the town and stitching their own personal stories on the map."

Highlights of the feast include:

• Friday October 3 - Opening Ceremony:  The event kicks off with a spectacular opening ceremony as the Mayor of Sunderland switches on the illuminations
• Saturday October 4 - Ox Roasting & Carnival Parade: Don't miss the traditional ox roast and the parade with brass bands and performers.
• Monday October 6 - Fireworks Spectacular: Head to Durham Road to witness a spectacular Firework Display, complete with music.

To find out more and stay up to date with the latest news about Houghton Feast, visit: Houghton Feast - MySunderland