Radical Essex Procession

Essex Book Festival is teaming up with internationally acclaimed arts organisation, Kinetika, for its Radical Procession from St Leonard-at-the-Hythe Church, a key player in the Siege of Colchester (1648), to University of Essex, famed for its foundational radical innovation in the 1960s.

Building on the festival’s ongoing series of Radical Walks in Essex, the Procession will include 500 pennants created as part of Beach of Dreams 2021 – an epic 500-mile journey which discovered hidden gems of the East Coast. This event will mark the launch of Beach of Dreams 2025 – an invitation to walk together along the coastline of the Uk and Ireland in a collective moment of reflection and climate action in the month of May 2025.

Part of our This Land: Launch Day events on Saturday 1st June at University of Essex. Join us for a day of talks, performances, debates, walks and workshops to mark the 25th Edition of Essex Book Festival and the 60th Anniversary of University of Essex.

Saturday 1 June, 10.00 – 11.30AM

Starting point: St Leonard-at-the-Hythe Church, Hythe Hill, Colchester, CO1 2NP
Finishing point: University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ
Tickets: Free, booking essential
Box Office: https://forms.office.com/e/XB1eEUfHt9

Photo of Beach of Dreams Flag Procession © Tessa Bunney

Walk With Words

The Radical Essex Procession will be walking along part of the Walk With Words trail. Walk With Words is an annual celebration of people and place. It is a participatory journey inviting you to share and explore stories of Colchester through walking.

Commissioned by Colchester City Council and the University of Essex, the project is set to launch Summer 2024. The new interactive walking route seeks to connect Colchester City Centre, the University of Essex and Greenstead.

The journey is organised around 16 posts which will invite you to access digital content using your smart phone. The evolving collection of local stories, memories and histories aims to encourage mindful observation of place – inviting you to pause, observe, listen, watch, read, and reflect. As the project grows, the experience of exploring the landscape will change. Each year the project will invite contributions of new work on an annual theme that encourages an appreciation of Colchester through a different lens.

We encourage you to take part by sharing your own experience of the city!

The digital platform is due to launch on May 4th, in the meantime you can find out more and submit stories to www.walkwithwords.co.uk.

You can keep up with the project on Instagram @walkwithwordscolchester, and send any questions to hello@walkwithwords.co.uk.