July 2025 Newsletter – Be part of the Big Lunches!

Children jump up and celebrate
Youngsters having fun at the Aveley Big Lunch in 2024 . © Mark Massey

The Big Lunches begin next week!

We’re really proud to be bringing this summer-long celebration to eight venues across Thurrock alongside our partners once again.

As you’d expect, we’re bringing a creative twist to each of these Big Lunches and have some brilliant acts lined up for the next few weeks.

Folk Dance Remixed will be teaching you some funked-up traditional steps from their repertoire, with three unique workshops and performances across three of the events at East TilburyChadwell-St-Mary and Aveley!

Also, in East Tilbury and at the Tilbury Picnic in the Park, there will be a performance of Arcade from Casson & Friends and Applause Rural Touring as part of their Let’s Play THURROCK! project that we’re delighted to be supporting.

They’ll be joined by Glass House Dance in Tilbury, who will be dancing with you through the decades with Time Machine Disco!

And you can move to the beat of the dhol drum at Blackshots and Corringham, where Cohesion Plus will be bringing Bhangra for a celebration of community and culture.

There’s also the chance to see contemporary dance, beatboxing, and juggling like never before with SAY and Gandini Juggling in South Ockendon, and a family-friendly acrobatic dance show called Olive Branch in Purfleet-on-Thames.

Plus, there’s plenty of live music, sports, and creative and physical activities from us and our partners!

We hope to see you at as many of these as possible over the next six weeks – find your nearest Big Lunch here.

A woman paints a mural on a fence
Start Thurrock volunteers are required for the Big Lunches Credit: Mark Massey

Let us help your bring your creative ideas to life

Our Creative Community Support programme is now open for applications!

Whether you’re an artist, a community group, or just have a big idea for a creative project here in Thurrock, we want to help bring it to life.

From D-Day memorial projects to jungle music workshops and murals, we’ve supported so many fantastic proposals – the only limit to what we can help with is your imagination.

We’re proud of the diverse range of creative projects we’ve supported in Thurrock, and if you’ve got an idea, we’d love to hear from you.

We want everyone applying to feel supported, so we’re happy to have a friendly and constructive chat with you about your plan before you submit anything – just drop us a line.

You can find details on how to apply here.

Actors perform outside in front of an engaged audience of young people
Who is this mysterious stranger? Find out in the Myths of the Marshes in Purfleet-on-Thames in June. © Mark Massey

Thanks for supporting the marvellous Myths of the Marshes

We hope you had a great time at the Myths of the Marshes in Purfleet-on-Thames!

A big thanks to everyone who was a part of it, especially the community cast who made it such a great show.

A shout-out to the audience members who got involved, and of course to the remarkable team at Teatro Vivo, who have become honorary Thurrock residents over the last 18 months – even finding time to put on a brilliant Producer Training Session after the shows!

Image: Young entrepreneurs get to work at Wishlers Corringham Image: Mark Massey. © Mark Massey

Kids Business showcases the creativity of young people

We had a wonderful weekend at Wishlers, Corringham, earlier this month.

Local youngsters let their imaginations run wild as part of Kids Business Thurrock, dreaming up a shop full of ideas and creativity.

Thanks to everyone who came along, to Hunt and Darton for putting it together, and especially to the young people who made this project such a joy – it was great to see so many new faces there!

Start Thurrock
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