Get your dancing shoes on! Online festival streams Preston talent

The free online festival to keep people active and entertained at home is due to start this weekend.
Yoga classes organised by Mandala Yoga before lockdown.Yoga classes organised by Mandala Yoga before lockdown.
Yoga classes organised by Mandala Yoga before lockdown.

Launching the Living City Project, Preston-based production company They Eat Culture has teamed up with Mandala Yoga & Wellbeing, to stream live dance classes, music, yoga and mental health tips from the homes of local experts.

The activities will be hosted on Facebook, including kitchen Zumba, living room ‘street’ dance, hallway meditation and living room chill-zone.

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Emma Lowther-Wright from Mandala Yoga & Wellbeing said that the team wanted to help people stay active whilst trying out new activities.

Community banquet brings new cultures to PrestonCommunity banquet brings new cultures to Preston
Community banquet brings new cultures to Preston

“We have been physically distancing now for over 6 weeks and we are social animals who need to feel connected to others," she said.

"We need to move our bodies and we need music and art to flourish. We feel that although we are physically distant, we can still be socially connected and we wanted to create this Facebook page and festival to enable that.”

They Eat Culture has been bringing culture to the doorstep of people Preston since 2009, with Mandala Yoga and Wellbeing proving a popular hub of relaxation in the city centre.

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The Facebook page is due to host activities on an ongoing basis during lockdown and as the slow transition back into a normal way of life continues.

As well as joining in with the activities, the project encourages people from Preston to share photos and videos from their current lives in lockdown.

Ruth from They Eat Culture explained she wanted to tell the important stories of local people to look back on once restrictions are lifted.

“We are creating a website documenting the real-life lockdown experiences of people in PR postcodes. We don’t want our story in the future to be one told from a London or Manchester perspective, we want there to be a local story told for us to look back on," she said.

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"We want people from all walks of life, from key workers to isolators, people who love lockdown, people whose lives haven’t changed much, and people who have been very affected.

"Your stories are important to us.”

The Living City Facebook page will give people the opportunities to share their photography, sound and film recording, and other film skills.

People wanting to be involved sharing skills or hosting a workshop, can find out more through the Facebook page 'Living City Preston' or emailing [email protected]

"If you’ve got skills to share and want to host a workshop, or take part in an online discussion, we’d love to hear from you," said Ruth.

"We're working with a range of different artists & creating a series of workshops which will hopefully be fun and engaging for the public."

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