Your invitation to celebrate International Women’s Day

Women across Blackburn with Darwen are invited to learn something new this International Women’s Day.

The Our Community, Our Future social integration team and the Bureau Centre for the Arts are joining forces to host a day of creativity, friendship, food and fun on Friday 6 March.

At the event in the Bureau’s Penny Street base, creative women’s projects from across the borough will offer taster activities in a range of arts and crafts.

Come along to learn new skills in making, mending and creating – from crochet and jewellery making, to using power tools.

Sew & Sow, a local women’s group supported through an Our Community, Our Future grant, will be demonstrating how to make jewellery and keyrings.

The Blackburn West Health Group will lead a pebble painting activity, and Arts2Heal will be encouraging women to paint prayer beads as part of their current project.

A group of women from Sudan will be offering henna painting and teaching some traditional Sudanese crafts.

And Annie from Soul Furniture, who helps run the Bureau’s regular Mending Café, will be teaching some basic techniques with tools and sharing practical tips for mending household items.

Cath Ford, a director at the Bureau Centre for the Arts, said:

We’re a very welcoming space at the Bureau and are looking forward to welcoming lots of women from across Blackburn with Darwen to celebrate International Women’s Day with us. The centre will be a hive of activity with lots going on and opportunities for women to try out new things – all for free.

Our café will be open to serve drinks and refreshments too.

All women are welcome to come along to try new things, meet people and find out what’s happening locally and how they can get involved.

Drop in to the free event between 10am and 2pm on Friday 6 March to learn a range of art and craft techniques, and enjoy a tasty lunch provided by the Purple Patch Café. There’s no need to book – just turn up.

International Women’s Day is a global celebration of women’s achievements and contributions taking place every year on 8 March. Across the world, millions of females will be celebrating and taking action for gender equality.

Councillor Mohammed Khan, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, said:

International Women’s Day is the perfect occasion to bring women from across our borough together. It’s a day of togetherness and solidarity between women, as globally we strive for gender equality.

The borough’s social integration programme Our Community, Our Future is supporting the event and groups that have been involved in the programme are involved in running some taster sessions at the event. I hope that women from all parts of Blackburn with Darwen will go along to celebrate together.

For more information about the event in the Bureau on Friday 6 March, follow the event page on Facebook or contact the Bureau on info@bureaublackburn.co.uk.