Community
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Community *
We believe in the healing powers of community. Beton Collective wants to play an active role in Folkestone’s life by providing easy access to creative activities, making more space for creativity and culture in our everyday lives, and engaging in open and meaningful dialogue that connects different local communities.
We work with local organisations and individuals who do meaningful work for our community. We host charity events, free creativity workshops and always offer free space for groups who engage in creative and cultural activities.
In The Green Room and kollectiv we worked with The Green Kordofan, a charity providing health and education services to children in South Sudan. We organised a crowd-funding event with Folkestone Stands with Palestine to raise money for Gaza.
We work closely with Flo Peycelon who runs Young Strings - a group of children musicians, and Folkestone Community Players - Folkestone’s first amateur orchestra. We held rehearsals and concerts for both ensembles in the Green Room and at kollectiv.
We run a weekly writing workshop keeping our ticket prices low to encourage as many people as possible to participate. We’ve been meeting for almost a year accepting new writers every week. The group has been described as ‘life changing’ and ‘the best thing in Folkestone’ by some of the participants. We are now ready to offer a second day to make sure all voices are heard and the group keeps its intimate and friendly atmosphere.
We’re currently raising money to offer free art classes for children coming from less privileged backgrounds. In 2026, we want to start offering music workshops for children and adults.
COMMUNITY EVENTS AT THE GREEN ROOM 2023-2024
15 March 2023 Experimental Poetry Workshop with Michał Kamil Piotrowski
21 March 2023 Writing Workshop with Katie Beton
30 March 2023 Soundbath (Soundmergence)
04 April 2023 Writing Workshop with Katie Beton
22 April 2023 The Conversation Club (Simon Richmond)
04 May 2023 Music and Wellbeing Conference (Folkestone Music Town)
06 May 2023 Drawing Class with Elena Priestley
27 May 2023 Soundbath (Soundmergence)
10 June 2023 The Green Kordofan (Charity Event)
24 June 2023 Saint Derek: Then and Now (celebrating Derek Jarman)
28 July 2023 Salon D’Art
07 October 2023 The Young Strings (Flo Peycelon)
05 December 2023 Folkestone Community Players (Flo Peycelon)
06 December 2023 Living Advent Calendar
09-10 December 2023 Christmas Market (Etsy Folkestone)
12 December 2023 Living Advent Calendar
26 January 2024 Open Arts Folke
03-04 February 2024 Sing to Beat
24 February 2024 LGBTQA Walk + Talk (Folkestone Pride)
03 March 2024 Scriptwriting Course with Tamsin Larby
10 March 2024 Take Up Space Festival
12 March 2024 Singing Workshop with Linda Perillo
13 April 2024 the Conversation Club (Simon Richmond)
13 May 2024 How to Make Money on Music (Folkestone Music Town)
07 June 2024 Salon D’Art
02 August 2024 Mayor of Folkestone Charity Event
COMMUNITY EVENTS AT KOLLECTIV 2024-
10 July 2024 Open Arts Folke
11 July 2024 Short Story Club
19 July 2024 Nervous Drawing with Alex Boican
22 July 2024 Art of Writing with Katie Beton (weekly writing classes)
25 July 2024 Wuthering Heights Dance Rehearsal
27 July 2024 Pride Exhibition
11 August 2024 The Blessing of kollectiv by Sister Sic Transit Gloria Swanson of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
29 August 2024 Folkestone Art News
04 September 2024 Speed-date Your Creative Project
05 September 2024 Open Art Folke
12 September 2024 HEART Forum
13 -21 September 2024 Open Art Folke Festival
15 September 2024 Potato Print Charity Event
18 September 2024 Experimental Poetry Workshop with Michal Kamil Piotrowski
19 September 2024 Unmuted Muse workshop with Tamsin Larby
20 September 2024 Salon D’Art
26 September 2024 Folkestone Art News
29 September 2024 Scriptwriting Course with Tamsin Larby
03 October 2024 Poethathon (Poets’ Corner)
11 October 2024 Sonic Space (bi-weekly event with Randolph Matthews and Simon Lambert)
23 October 2024 Drawing is for All with Joao Caridade
24 October 2024 Folkestone Foghorn Launch
27 October 2024 Soundbath and Watercolours with Deborah Crofts and Just be by Justyna
02 November 2024 Halloween Scavengers' Hunt (Old High Street)
30 November 2024 Hygge Yule (Christmas decoration making for all)
01 December 2024 Christmas decorations making for families
21 December 2024 Christmas Clarinet Pop-up (Foxymoron)
30 December 2024 Celebrating Mark Simpson's Premiere of Hold Your Heart in Your Teeth
06 January 2025 Collage making course - 4 weeks with Rob Birch
06 February 2025 Reuse Recycle Workshop with Folkestone and Hythe District Council
19 February 2025 Papermaking workshop with Deborah Crofts
24 April 2025 Ceramics Get Together
26 April 2025 Creative Writing workshop with Rosie Garland (The Folkestone Bookshop)
21 May 2025 Open Arts Folke Meeting
23 May 2025 Salon D'Art
28 May 2025 Musicians Mixer
13 June 2025 Wuthering Heights Dance Rehearsal
15 June 2025 Pot Luck for Refugee Action
16 June 2025 Bloomsday
21 June 2026 A Midsummer Night's Dream Fundraiser for Refugees