Projects

Refreshed Ellie is star of the Eel Day Parade 2019!

Following our successful Ellie the Eel Christmas appeal between 27 November - 4 December 2018, where all donations were worth twice their original value, we raised a total amount of £2455. 

The donations raised helped us to run free workshops and arts activities with local people to create a fantastic spectacle for the Eel Day parade that took place on Saturday 4th May 2019.

The Ellie the Eel repair workshops were held across the weekend of 30th-31st March 2019, with over 100 people of all ages helping to repair Ellie, decorate one of Ellie's scales or make an eel mask. The workshops were led by John Lyons an experienced carnival artist, based here in East Cambridgeshire.

We also had our community drop-in sessions, where people were able to decorate a scale for Ellie the Eel, thanks to the kind donation of material from Sigma Embroidery, Ellie was decorated with more than 100 scales. Drop-in sessions took place on the 6th & 7th April, 13th & 14th, 20th & 21st April, at the Babylon Gallery.

Both our repaired Ellie and another eel were paraded on the 4th May 2019 from Cross Green to Jubilee Gardens, with the help of 16 enthusiastic volunteers, as part of the Ely Eel Day Parade.

Claire Somerville, Chief Executive at Babylon ARTS was interviewed as part of the ‘Open Country’ presented by Helen Mark which will be broadcast on Thursday 22 August at 15.02 on BBC Radio 4.

Please find some links to coverage so far here:

Cambridge News & Ely Standard