- 28 May -30 June 2025
- FREE
- Workshop
- Young Essex
Celebrating Collecting Dreams, Shifting Futures
Celebrating Collecting Dreams, Shifting Futures – Beach of Dreams
Wednesday 28 May
Venues across Harwich
Join in the fun this half term at the finale of Essex Book Festival and Kinetika’s collaborative story-gathering project, Collecting Dreams, Shifting Futures: a community celebration of Harwich’s fascinating heritage and coastline, which forms part of the inspirational nationwide Beach of Dreams project.
After an early start on the beach with a Know Your Beach Workshop led by local educator and environmental campaigner Libby Scarfe, participants will have the opportunity to take part in The Keeper of the Light Beach of Dreams silk-flag procession through town, followed by mini-film screenings in the Electric Palace Cinema. For those who want to get the creative juices going, join spoken word artist TriggerBliss and digital artist Marley Karazimba for a writing and film-making workshop.
Register at eventbrite.com to receive updates about this event.
9am Know Your Beach Workshop with Libby Scarfe, Seaside Explorers
Join Libby Scarfe, a local beach-enthusiast with a passion for education and outdoor adventures for this special Know Your Beach Workshop.
There will be story-telling and a chance to explore the natural coast environment. Take part in a community beach clean and then get creative with the items you find.
Wednesday 28th May, 9.00 – 10.00am
Location: Harwich Beach. Meet at Harwich Town Sailing Club
Meeting point: What3words ref ///existence.bridge.sailors
Tickets: £4 per young person. Accompanying adult free.
Box Office: eventbrite.com
Suits ages 5-11 but everybody welcome!
All those aged 12 or under must be accompanied by an adult. Accompanying adult free. Accompanying adult does not need a ticket.
10.30am Writing and Film-Making Workshop with TriggerBliss and Marley Karazimba
Two workshops in one! Join spoken word artist, TriggerBliss, and digital artist Marley Karazimba for writing and film-making workshops. Part of Celebrating Collecting Dreams, Shifting Futures – a community celebration of Harwich’s fascinating heritage and coastline, which forms part of the inspirational nationwide Beach of Dreams project.
Wednesday 28th May
Venue: 1912 Centre, Cow Lane, Harwich, CO12 3ER
Tickets: Free, booking essential
Box Office: eventbrite.com
10.30 – 11.30am Writing Workshop with spoken word artist TriggerBliss
Join TriggerBliss and become a Keeper of the Light in this immersive creative writing workshop. You will have the opportunity to co-design a Harwich lighthouse, complemented by your stories of what coastal communities mean to you and our visions for our collective futures. Showcase your designs and highlight your voices by joining our artist led Keeper of the Light community walk around Harwich at 1.30pm.
11.30am – 12.30pm A Day in the Life of Harwich: Storyboarding the Past, Present & Future
Led by filmmaker Marley Karazimba
How do filmmakers turn ideas into visual stories? In this hands-on workshop, we’ll explore Harwich’s rich history and its future challenges (like rising sea levels) through storyboarding—the art of sketching scenes like a movie. No experience needed! Using comic strips and simple drawings, you’ll create your own “Day in the Life” of Harwich across time, learning filmmaking techniques along the way.
Two Workshops in One! These workshops will lead into each other so registration is to take part in both workshops.
1.30pm The Keeper of the Light – Beach of Dreams Silk-Flag Procession
A community procession of beautiful Beach of Dreams silk penants to celebrate the finale of Collecting Dreams, Shifting Futures project.
Wednesday 28th May, 1.30 – 2.15pm
Meeting point: The High Lighthouse, Saint Helen’s Green, Harwich, CO12 3NH
Tickets: Free, booking recommended
Book your place: eventbrite.com
A celebratory procession of Beach of Dreams silk-flags taking in some of Harwich’s key heritage sites including The High Lighthouse, Ha’penny Pier and Electric Palace Cinema. Led my spoken word artist, TriggerBliss.
3.00pm Beach of Dreams Film Screenings at Electric Palace Cinema
More details coming here soon…
Join us in the evening for the Essex Book Festival 2025 Launch Event with Booker Prize-winning author, Ben Okri:
7.00pm
Ben Okri
Madame Sosostris & the Festival for the Broken Hearted
Part vision, part mystery, this story of a midsummer night’s madness, in multi-award-winning poet, playwright and novelist Ben Okri’s inimitable style, is as alive with echoes and reverberations as the enchanted forest itself. Think Ingmar Bergman meets William Shakespeare, with a dash of Mozart.
‘Ben Okri is that rare thing, a literary and social visionary..’. Ali Smith
Wednesday 28th May, 7.00pm
Venue: Electric Palace Cinema, King’s Quay Street, Harwich, CO12 3ER
Find out more and book tickets at essexbookfestival.org.uk/benokri.
Photography and Filming
We will be taking photographs and video of this event to promote and celebrate the project in print and online. If you do not give consent to be photographed or filmed please let a member of the Essex Book Festival team know on the day.
Ben Okri
Madame Sosostris & the Festival for the Broken Hearted
Wednesday 28 May, 7pm
Electric Palace, Harwich
Part vision, part mystery, this story of a midsummer night’s madness, in multi-award-winning poet, playwright and novelist Ben Okri’s inimitable style, is as alive with echoes and reverberations as the enchanted forest itself. Think Ingmar Bergman meets William Shakespeare, with a dash of Mozart.
Find out more and book tickets here.