Festival of Ideas: buzzing with success

On the Saturday morning, our residents in resident Britt and Elyssa were up early to brew coffee and help host the Lazy Saturday Café – which was super popular with neighbours from across Trumpington. With the chance to read a newspaper and sip a Cappuccino – and sample one of the delicious cakes the community café was also an opportunity to imagine what we might like to see from the new café that’s due to open up at the Community Square later this year.
Following the roaring success of the pop-up café, hosts Fiona and Nikki will be running Lazy Saturday Cafés every second and fourth Saturday of the month at the Public Home, from June to September 2016.

The Festival of Ideas also saw launch the second issue of our Habitorials magazine – showcasing a collection of interviews with local residents from across Trumpington gathered by local writer Vicky Anning. Habitorials are stories from different parts of Trumpington documenting a community in transition – they are stories about home and sense of belonging, about memories of the past and desires for the future, about family and community, worries and hopes, about day to day living and change. You can read the stories from both the latest edition of the Habitorials magazine and from the first issue on our website – from the memories of landowner Antony Pemberton, whose family has lived in Trumpington for generations, to some of the newest residents from Trumpington Meadows to the musings of estate agent and local resident Sam Cooke about why Trumpington has become such a hot property market.
On the Saturday afternoon, we brought together residents at the Show Home to talk about some of the issues that arose through these interviews – from affordability to how we make sure that our community is a great, and inclusive, place to live. We’ll be bringing you more on this soon in a film that was made on the day to capture the discussion…

On the Sunday there was a full programme of food-related activities to tantalise Trumpington’s taste buds. First came the Trumpington Food Collective, who were trialling a new way to buy amazing, locally produced food in your local community. There was a chance to talk to the food producers, watch demonstrations and taste some food samples, as well as some live demos from local raw food chef Barbara Fernandez.

And in the afternoon, new resident Bethsy tried out her concept for a new family restaurant in Trumpington to an appreciative crowd of all ages.

As well as all this, there were activities throughout the weekend at the Show Home to appeal to residents young and old – from a community swap shop to a back room cinema showcasing all the latest Habitorials films to a model of our community garden to inspire people to shape the future of our green space.
The Festival of Ideas was a celebration of community and possibilities – of the potential for making exciting things happen in Trumpington. And it also marked the transition of the Show Home into a Public Home – a space run by neighbours and for neighbours.
So now the Public Home on Addenbrooke’s Road is available for Trumpington residents to use – it’s up to you to get involved and shape the community that you want to see! Do you want to get involved in the new Community Gardens? Do you want to find out more about swapping or sharing skills with your neighbours? Do you have any ideas about how support independent businesses in the new Community Square? Or do you have another idea you’d like to try out – perhaps you’d like to run a class or organise an event? Anything is possible – and it’s all totally free!
Come along to one of our regular pub nights or Saturday cafés to find out more. Or drop us a line at hello@habitorials.org.uk
We look forward to meeting you at the Public Home soon!