Heavens fundraiser, Raising the Spirits, took place on Friday evening, setting off from the Crown and Sceptre pub in Horns Road with an effigy created to represent the spirit of the Heavens.
After a ‘calling in’ ceremony at the start to bring the spirit into the effigy, designed by artist Alison Cockcroft, the effigy led the Stroud Red Band on a procession along Horns Road, watched by dozens of residents, to the Trinity Rooms.
The ticketed event at the Trinity Rooms included poetry about the Heavens from local poets Adam Horovitz, Jonny Fluffypunk and Alun Hughes.
There was also dancing from Boss Morris; music from the band Ordinary Folk; history talks from local radical historian Stuart Butler and archaeologist Neil Baker, followed by a disco by the Donnelly Sisters and communal singing to the effigy.
Emma Kernahan told Stroud Times: “Throughout the campaign to put the Heavens into community ownership, we’ve seen this incredible outpouring of support from the people who live here. Everyone locally has a connection to this place, and it’s deeply rooted in our sense of identity as Stroudies.
“There’s such a spirit of resistance in this town, and a really strong community spirit – in recent years more than ever. By making a ‘spirit of the place’ we wanted to create something that represented that, and also give us a chance to celebrate what we can achieve when we work together.
“The whole event was a collective effort – it was organised by more than 20 local creatives and campaigners, and the response was so much more than anticipated. We thought summoning a genius loci in a community hall might be a bit niche – but we sold out so quickly, we were inundated with people wanting to come. People even came from places like Herefordshire, Brighton and Norfolk.
“We’ve had messages of support from all around the world too. I think we tapped into a much broader need right now for community and our rights to the land around us – and if the Heavens campaign is anything to go by, once that spirit has been summoned, there’s nothing it can’t achieve.”
Pictures by Simon Pizzey
