COWfest 2024 will take place on Saturday 10 February with FREE activities for children of all ages on offer across the city of Winchester!

Our festival hub will be at the ARC on Jewry Street. Let's take a look at what's on there...

To access booking pages for all the COWfest activities at the ARC, visit their website here.

1. Taking care of our precious artefacts - help us clean and organise our historical artefacts.

2. Protecting our museum & keeping it in tip top shape – work as gallery security and make sure our displays are nice and clean!

3. Historical meet & greet – get dressed up in historical costumes to welcome and direct our visitors around the museum.

4. Create an activity trail or video tour for our Anglo-Saxon Gallery – time to use your creative skills and come up with a fun way to explore the museum.

And check this out! Local author and illustrator, Lawrence Roberts, is running a FREE reading and drawing session for ages 4 and up, at P&G Wells Bookshop on College Street, at 2pm. You can book your tickets here, but be quick – COWfest activities at P&G Wells tend to be popular!

PLEASE REMEMBER – if you book a free ticket for an activity session and you can't make it, please let the venue know so they can release it for someone else.

You can DROP IN ALL DAY to the Royal Green Jackets museum at Peninsula Barracks, any time from 10am to 3.30pm (last admission before the museum closes at 4pm). There will be FREE entry for families all day AND there will be a museum trail and FREE children's craft activities on offer.

You can also DROP IN to the Brooks Shopping Centre on Middle Brook Street between 12.30pm and 4pm, where the soft play area (in the heart of the centre outside Primark) will be buzzing! There will be balloon modelling and face painting with Shelley and Sharron between 1pm and 3pm, and story time led by actors from Chesil Theatre at 12.30pm, 2pm and 3.30pm. Suggested age range 3 to 8 years.

ALSO, PLAN AHEAD to access FREE COWfest activities at the Winchester Sport & Leisure Park in Bar End. They are offering several great sessions, but you can only book from Saturday 3rd February onwards by calling 01962 848700 or visiting the WSLP reception:

Active Antz 09:15 for Under 5s – Designed to give you and your child time to learn from each other, Active Antz encourages you and your child to play and try a variety of activities. Wear suitable clothing, but shoes are not needed. The session is supervised but it is not a led session, and parents are required to take part and supervise their child.

Top Rock Climbing 16:00 for ages 4+ – Top Rock is a new type of indoor clip and climb that’s fun and thrilling in equal measure. There are 17 routes to take on that vary in difficulty, in an environment that’s full of colour, exciting shapes, and new experiences. With plenty of variations to suit new and experienced climbers.

Swimming 14:30 Free for the family – Taking place in our Learner Pool, for everyone to experience the fun, relaxing and invigorating activity that swimming is. Dip your toe in, the water’s lovely! All under 8s must attend with an adult (18+). 1 adult can be responsible for 2 under 8s.

Keep checking this page for more FREE COWfest activities on offer elsewhere across the city on Saturday 10th February! There's more to come...

We are most grateful for the support of Winchester BID, which has made this year's event possible and means we can continue to offer all COWfest activities for FREE to local children.

Happy new year, all!

Did you know that you can enjoy the Children of Winchester Festival again in 2024?

The festival hub will once more be at the ARC on Jewry Street in the heart of Winchester. The ARC team is managing the festival there this year, and you can expect a wide range of FREE activities for children of all ages on Saturday 10th February – so HOLD THE DATE and don't miss out!

There will also be FREE activities running at several other venues across the city centre. All will be revealed between now and 10th February, so check in here for further details soon...

This year, COWfest takes place on Saturday 11 February and the festival will have a hub at the ARC on Jewry Street with additional free activities offered at several venues across the city centre. There's plenty to do, so take a look at what's on offer, below.

We are most grateful for the support of Winchester BID, which has made this year's event possible and means we can continue to offer all COWfest activities for FREE to local children.

PLEASE REMEMBER – if you book a free ticket for an activity session and you can't make it, please let the venue know so they can release it for someone else!

AT THE ARC

Jewry Street, Winchester SO23 8SB

9.45-10.30 Relax Kids: 3–5 years PRE-BOOK HERE

10.45-11.30 Relax Kids: 6–10 years PRE-BOOK HERE

What to expect in a Relax Kids session – music and movement, fun mindfulness games, stretches, self and peer massage, child friendly breathing techniques, positive self-talk and affirmations, story visualisations, LOTS OF FUN and tips to relax :-) To be held in the ARC Performance Hall.

10.00-10.45 Moo Music: 18 months–4 years PRE-BOOK HERE

Moosical fun involving action songs with instruments, props and puppets. Moo Music is a creative and interactive music and movement session with over 100 fantastic songs written for it by professional children's song writer, Craig McLeish, who has also worked on hit West End shows like Les Miserables and Miss Saigon as well as many television favourites. Each class is cleverly designed to develop vital language, memory and co-ordination skills. Because Moo Music has been developed with the help of teachers and child development specialists, parents can be sure that their children are benefitting from a first-rate educational experience while they are moving and grooving! To be held in the ARC Learning Room.

10.00-12.00 Mimosa Montessori art and craft: all ages DROP IN

10.00-13.00 Community Connections: all ages DROP IN

To be held in the study space behind adult fiction. Open to all sanctuary seekers for a chat, helpful information and signposting.

11.00 Storytime: ages under 5 DROP IN

To be held in the Children’s Library area. Parents/carers must remain with their child during this session.

11.30-12.30 Baby Massage: 6 weeks–6 months PRE-BOOK HERE

12.00-14.00 District Sports inclusive and gentle sports: all ages DROP IN

Have a go at Boccia and New Age Kurling – both are easy to learn and play, for anyone of any age or mobility! The friendly coaches from District Sports will show you the ropes at this relaxed drop-in session. Turn up any time between 12pm and 2pm. To be held in the ARC Performance Hall.

12.00-16.00 Construction Club: ages 4+ DROP IN

To be held in the Children’s Library area. Come along any time between 12pm and 4pm, to play and build with lego! Parents/carers to remain in the library.

13.30-16.00 Climate Change crafting: all ages DROP IN

Get crafty with the children's library team and explore the theme of climate change. To be held in the ARC Community Space.

14.30-15.10 Treasure Gymnastics toddler gym: 2–3 years (with parent/carer assistance) PRE-BOOK HERE

15.15-16.00 Treasure Gymnastics toddler gym: 3–4 years (with parent/carer observation) PRE-BOOK HERE

Whether you see your little one as a future gymnast, rugby player or academic, the skills developed in Preschool gymnastics are invaluable! The ABC of movement (Agility, Balance and Co-ordination) once developed can be transferred to many other areas of life. We encourage our Little Treasures to take controlled risks to challenge their physical abilities and develop. Climbing, jumping, movement patterns and falling safely are all key elements of our programmes – with traditional handstands and cartwheels, too! Give it all a try at a free taster session as part of COWfest 2023. To be held in the ARC Performance Hall.

15.00-16.00 DoDo Dramatics puppet-making: 7–11 years PRE-BOOK HERE

DoDo Dramatics 'Heroes of the Sea': in this craft workshop suitable for children aged 7 to 11, participants will be able to make their very own sea creature puppet. This is a zero-waste craft session, meaning everything we use to create these magical ocean dwellers will be entirely pre-used materials, such as plastic bags, cardboard and bottle caps. To be held in the ARC Learning Room.

ALL DAY in the City Space gallery on the ARC mezzanine. 

Exhibition – ‘From One Place to Another’: all ages DROP IN

This exhibition is a collection of work created with the Winchester City of Sanctuary community including families, young people and partners. The work draws on a number of themes explored in Chagall’s ‘A Farewell To Art’ exhibition including journeys, families, love and loss. This exhibition provides an opportunity for people within the community to share their experience through their own narratives, visual and symbolic art, as well as connecting with historical collections. It hopes to provide a calm space for people to reflect and to build up a new community collective narrative.

Origami making – boats and cranes: all ages DROP IN

Inspired by local artist Hiromi Mangano’s ‘1602 Origami Peace Cranes’ created with people all over Winchester and exhibited in the ARC as part of ‘From One Place to Another’. Have a go at making your own origami boat or crane, and add it to the ARC community display. Origami paper and instructions provided (in English, Ukrainian, Pashto and Arabic).

CITY-WIDE

P&G Wells – 11 College Street, Winchester SO23 9LZ

P&G Wells are planning an exciting day of free author events for children as part of this year’s COWfest. All events can be booked via Ticketsource here and will take place upstairs in our shop at 11 College Street on Saturday 11^th February. Please note, all children attending need to have a responsible adult (parent/carer) remain on site throughout the event.

**SPECIAL COWFEST DISCOUNT**  Get 10% off children's, teen and YA books bought in the P&G Wells shop on 11th February if you mention the code 'COWfest'.

10.00-11.00 Creative writing workshop with Jo Clarke: ages 8-12 years PRE-BOOK HERE

Jo Clarke is the author of The Travelling School Mysteries series, Libby and the Parisian Puzzle and Libby and the Highland Heist. If you want to learn how to plot the perfect crime, create your own detective characters and understand how you can use clues to help your reader solve the mystery, then join Jo in this fun and interactive writing workshop. Numbers are limited for this workshop, and booking is essential.

The workshop will last 1 hour and afterwards Jo Clarke will be signing her books, Libby and the Parisian Puzzle and Libby and the Highland Heist. Contact P&G Wells if you want to pre-order your copies.

13.30 Reading and drawing activity with Zosienka: ages 3-7 years PRE-BOOK HERE

Author and illustrator Zosienka will give a reading and lead a drawing activity based around her beautiful picture book The Moon Keeper (as read by Christine and the Queens as the CBeebies Bedtime Story on New Year’s Day).

15.00 Reading and collage activity with Margaret Sturton: ages 5-8 years PRE-BOOK HERE

Author and illustrator Margaret Sturton will read from her books, A Fox Called Herbert and Two Can Play, and encourage children to get hands-on and make a collage.

AGC Museum – Peninsula Barracks, Romsey Road, Winchester SO23 8TS

ALL DAY from 10.00 to 17.00 (last entry 16.15). All ages. FREE museum entry and children's trail with a special craft activity between 10.30 and 15.00. Addy the Lion is lonely visiting the AGC Museum by himself! Help Addy by making your own handprint lion and find Addy hidden around the museum in our trail.

City Museum – The Square, Winchester SO23 9ES

ALL DAY from 10.00 to 17.00. All ages. FREE museum entry for children on the day of COWfest, along with a children's trail and craft activities. From 13.30 to 16.00, you can even learn Viking Chess! One of the Anglo-Saxon locals from 878 AD has been let loose on the streets of Winchester and challenges you to a game of Taefl. They will teach you how to play the game, and can even teach you a little bit of Anglo-Saxon history as well! Will you be able to beat the best and take the crown of Taefl Champion?

Westgate Museum – High Street, Winchester SO23 9AP

ALL DAY from 10.00 to 16.00. All ages. FREE museum entry for children on the day of COWfest – and have a go at brass rubbing.

Winchester Sports and Leisure Park – Bar End Road, Winchester SO23 9NR 

All free COWfest activities to be booked at the reception from Saturday 4 February onwards (in person or via 01962 848700) – with drop-in available on the day if space allows.

10.15-11.00 and 11.15-12.00 Active Antz: Under 5 years

Designed to give you and your child time to play and learn from each other, Active Antz encourages you and your child to try a variety of activities. Wear suitable clothing but shoes are not needed! The session is supervised but not led, and parents are required to take part and supervise their child.

15.00-15.45 and 16.00-16.45 Top Rock Climbing: Ages 4 to 18

We have 16 colourful walls with multiple routes to their peaks. All routes use an auto-belay, meaning climbers just need to harness up, clip on and climb! Climbers must be at least 4 years old and weigh 10kg.

Winchester Baptist Church, City Road, Winchester SO23 8SD

14.00-14.45 Jiggy Wrigglers: ages up to 5 years PRE-BOOK HERE

Jiggy Wrigglers' dance and movement classes offer an engaging combination of music, dance and creative activities to stimulate and entertain both you and your children! You won't be able to resist shaking your legs and having the time of your life with your little one.

Abbey Gardens, The Broadway, Winchester SO23 9BE

ALL DAY Enchanted Light Garden: All ages – this opens on the day of COWfest, so after your day of activities head down to Abbey Gardens as night falls for some magical displays!

Abbey Gardens will become a magical Enchanted Light Garden from 11 February until 5 March, with displays of light-up tunnels, fairytale creatures and flowery delights. Access to see the lights is free of charge. The best time to see the lights will be as night falls, but daytime visitors will still be able to enjoy the displays enhancing the natural beauty of their surroundings.

This year, COWfest takes place on Saturday 19 February and the festival will be dispersed across the city centre in "takeover" style! There's plenty to do – including free activity sessions and competitions, and free entry to local attractions – as well as special offers and discounts, so take a look at what's on offer, below.

We are most grateful for the support of Winchester BID, which has made this year's COWfest possible.

PLEASE REMEMBER – if you book a free ticket for an activity session and you can't make it, please let the venue know so they can release it for someone else!

ARE YOU LOST? Take a look at our map showing COWfest 2022 activity locations here.

FORGOT TO BOOK? Don't worry! There are lots of drop-in activities throughout the day. Download a summary here.

ACTIVITY SESSIONS

AT UNIT 12, WINNALL VALLEY ROAD

FREE dance workshops with Move Momentum

Street dance workshops for young people: come and learn some Hip Hop dance in a relaxed atmosphere, where you can also hang out with friends and have fun! We will go over some basic moves and teach a short dance sequence. The workshops will be led by one of our highly experienced teachers who will make sure all students feel welcome, supported and able to express themselves. We are well-equipped to support young people experiencing challenges, such as with their mental health, low confidence/self-esteem and social difficulties such as bullying. We are also an LGBTQ+ friendly organisation. No previous dance experience is required! Please book onto a workshop for FREE via Eventbrite here. We will accept drop-ins; however, we MUST have written parent/guardian permission prior to any young person participating in these workshops.

AT TREASURE GYMNASTICS CENTRE, WINNALL

FREE gymnastics sessions with Treasure Gymnastics for ages 5–12

Come along and try Treasure's gymnastics classes for FREE in their full-time equipped gym (behind Homebase off Easton Lane). Use the trampoline and the bars, and jump in the pit! See what it is like to be a gymnast and make new friends. These sessions are one hour long. Parents can wait in the waiting area where the gym is visible but cannot move around the apparatus with their children. All classes are run by qualified and DBS checked coaches, and groups are limited to 8. Gymnasts should wear sports clothes (shorts/t-shirt/leggings/tracksuit bottoms) and should have long hair tied back and jewellery/watches removed. All gymnasts should bring a pair of socks and a drink! Please only book one free session per child, so that lots of children get a chance to have a go! All children must be secured, and we cannot allow extras on the day as we have to stick to strict health and safety ratios – so pre-booking is essential. 

AT P&G WELLS BOOKSHOP, COLLEGE STREET

FREE experience: “Be a bookseller” for a day! Do you love books? Why not try your hand at bookselling in (arguably) the longest-surviving bookshop in the world. The Guinness Book of Records cites a bookshop in Lisbon dating back to 1734, though it has moved premises twice. P&G Wells has roots traced back to 1729, certainly on College Street and quite possibly on the same site. Bookselling experience open to students in school Years 10 and 11, for half a day or all day (shop is open 9am-5.30pm). Please email [email protected] with the subject 'COWfest 2022 Be a bookseller'.

📚

AT WATERSTONES, THE BROOKS SHOPPING CENTRE

FREE create your own bookmark activity in store on Saturday 19 February. Pop into the Waterstones store in the Brooks shopping centre any time between 9am and 5.30pm on the day of COWfest to design your own bookmark, which you can keep and use when you read. (You can also take the activity home, if you prefer.) Suitable for all ages.

📚

AT THE ARC, JEWRY STREET

Relax Kids ages 3–6 The Arc Performance Hall, 10-10:45am

FREE tickets: book here

Relax Kids ages 7–11 The Arc Performance Hall, 11am-12pm

FREE tickets: book here

Relax Kids classes with Jules begin with fun, high energy activities such as music and movement and active mindfulness games with parachutes and props. These aim to get the heart beating and release endorphins and energy. Children are then encouraged to wind down using a range of relaxation techniques including yoga stretches, self-massage, child friendly belly breathing techniques, affirmations, and story visualisations.  

Cardboard Creations – inspired by the art of Ravilious The Arc Community Space, 10am-12pm

FREE tickets: book here

Inspired by the paintings of Ravilious, come along to this making workshop where you can create your own 3D cardboard artwork.  All materials will be provided to enable you to design, cut, stick, and paint a mini sculpture to take home.  All keen makers, creators and parent helpers are welcome, and no prior experience is needed.  Parents are asked to stay so that participants can get the best out of the workshop. ​If you have any specific access needs you would like to discuss beforehand, please email Anna on [email protected]  

🎨

LOCAL ATTRACTIONS

Winchester City Museum, The Square – 10am-5pm

FREE entry all day on Saturday 19 February for children and their families! This museum is in the heart of the city and tells the story of England’s ancient capital, the seat of Alfred the Great. The model of 1870 Winchester is a hit with children and adults alike. Check out their website!

🏛

Westgate Museum, Upper High Street – 10am-4pm

FREE entry all day on Saturday 19 February for children and their families! Check out their website!

🏛

Winchester City Mill, Bridge Street – 11am-4pm

FREE entry – plus milling demonstrations, interactive activity stations and ‘50 things to do before you're 11¾’ activities designed for ages 5-12. Check out their website!

🏛

The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum, Peninsula Barracks – 10am-4pm

FREE entry for children under 16 – PLUS half-price entry for all adults in the family on Saturday 19 February. No 1 of 64 things to do in Winchester on Tripadvisor, this museum has been described as an "under-appreciated gem", with its diorama of the Battle of Waterloo a particular highlight. Check out the museum website!

🎖

The Rifles Museum, Peninsula Barracks – 10am-4pm

FREE entry for children and the rest of the family. This museum focuses on the largest regiment in the Army and offers dressing up and other activities for youngsters. Check out their website!

🎖

The Adjutant General’s Corps Museum, Peninsula Barracks – 10am-4pm

FREE entry for children and the rest of the family, plus a museum trail for youngsters. Check out their website!

🎖

COWs EAT FREE

Frieda’s Tearoom, 6a Parchment Street – 10am-5pm

FREE cakes for kids, when parents/carers eat or drink at Frieda’s. Check out their website!

COWFEST COMPETITIONS

Ballet Pointe, The Brooks Shopping Centre – Inspired by Dance competition

Do you love to dance? Express yourself through a dance or ballet inspired poem or picture, for a chance to waltz away with some prizes! Get writing or drawing, and drop your creation into Ballet Pointe at their new location on the lower shopping level of the Brooks centre (opposite the soft play area), no later than 5pm on the day of COWfest, Saturday 19 February. Prizes will be awarded during half-term week. (PS. You'll need to put your first name, age and a parent/carer contact number on the back of your poem or drawing so you can be contacted if you win.)

💃

Three Joes, 9 Great Minster Street – pizza colouring competition

Pop into Three Joes on Saturday 19 February to take part in their special COWfest colouring competition, which is FREE to enter (no need to dine – you can collect a colouring sheet from 12 February onwards but it must be returned to the restaurant by close on 20 February). Draw on 21 February. The winner will be invited back to the restaurant during half-term to hone their pizza-making skills with the Chef! They will, of course, be able to eat their pizza creation – and their parent/carer will get free pizza and a drink, too. For ages up to 8

🍕

Bellacrafts, Kings Walk – Eat like a Queen competition

Drop into Bellacrafts any time between 10am and 3pm on Saturday 19 February. Children aged 2-12 years can have fun getting creative in this completely FREE craft activity and competition. Simply turn up, take a seat and enjoy using Bellacrafts' paints, sequins, sparkles, stickers and your own imagination to create a crown inspired by Queen Elizabeth, our longest reigning Monarch. Plus feel free to join in with any other Bellacraft activities or order something yummy from their tea rooms while you visit (charges apply). Have your royal portrait captured, before being entered into a competition for a Royal Lunch for 4 – including an Afternoon Tea for adults and one of Bellacrafts' themed Yummy Treat Plates for the children. Your finished creation will be yours to take home with you. Good luck – there can only be one winner!

🎨

Lark kids, 6 St Thomas Street – Design a Boot competition

Design your own 'Zig + Star' boot, for a chance to win great prizes! Open to all ages 0-18. Be as creative as you like! You can use paints, crayons, pencils, fabrics ... any materials you wish. Drop your finished design to Lark kids' city centre store, or ask a parent/carer to get in touch with them via email or Instagram. Check out their website for contact details. PDF entry sheet here. Closes 19 February 2022.

COWFEST SPECIAL OFFERS

Lark kids, 6 St Thomas Street – 10am-5.30pm

10% off children’s shoes on Saturday 19 February 2022 when you mention COWfest. Check out their website!

P&G Wells, 11 College Street – 9am-5.30pm

10% off children’s books on Saturday 19 February 2022 when you mention COWfest. Check out their website!

This year's Children of Winchester Festival (COWfest) will take place on Saturday 19 February 2022.

We are planning a new in-person format this year, to take account of our COVID-affected environment, but also to try something new!

COWfest 2022 is offering a one-day kids’ takeover of Winchester city centre, with a wide range of FREE activities on offer in diverse spaces – from cultural venues and community facilities to shops and other businesses. 

One of the objectives is to showcase Winchester city organisations and businesses – particularly those that are youth-oriented – and to enable them to reach new audiences. We hope the event will bring children and their parents and carers into buildings and businesses that they wouldn’t normally visit, in order to take part in free activities offered specifically for COWfest.

If your venue, organisation or business would like to take part, please email us on [email protected] for more information and to discuss what you'd like to offer!

OPEN LETTER TO WINCHESTER CITY COUNCIL

Open space, greenery, nature and wildlife are of vital importance to human health and happiness. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown this into sharp relief. During the UK lockdowns, parks, recreation grounds, nature reserves and other green areas provided some respite from confinement. Since then, open spaces have offered the principal means of spending time with family and friends while maintaining “social distance”. Yet, the post-COVID recovery could threaten these very spaces, with the government’s emphasis on “build build build”[1] yielding new housing targets and planning laws[2] that will make development far easier.

The city of Winchester is surrounded by beautiful countryside, some of it protected through designation as national park or nature reserve or “site of special scientific interest”. Within the city’s settlement boundary, however, the publicly accessible open spaces are fairly small and only a few have limited forms of protection. Several sites listed in the 2016 Local Plan Open Space Strategy have since been developed (e.g. The Valley), as have some areas designated as “locally listed historic parks and gardens” (e.g. Pitt Manor).

The city’s main public sports pitches and recreation grounds sit just outside the settlement boundary. They have remained relatively unthreatened while designated as “countryside”. However, only two sets of playing fields, King George V in Highcliffe and the neighbouring Garrison Ground, are legally protected with Fields In Trust. Community mobilisation has been essential to the process of getting these areas properly protected.

Similar efforts to protect other key areas of recreational open space in and around the city should be considered NOW, in light of the proposed new planning laws. Sites within or just outside the current settlement boundary are particularly vulnerable to development pressure. In addition to long-term protection, some sites could be enhanced through biodiversity management, whereas others would benefit from new recreational facilities or other measures to support public access and use.

[1] 10 Downing Street (2020) ‘Build build build’: Prime Minister announces New Deal for Britain press release, 30 June 2020, link

[2] Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (2020) Planning for the future consultation, 6 August 2020, link

Sadly, we cannot hold a full Children of Winchester Festival (COWfest) this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

However, you don't have to miss out – we have lined up some FREE family fun for half-term in our 2021 online COWfest-lite!

There are live and pre-recorded activities available, for all ages. With a big thank you to the Hampshire Cultural Trust, Treasure Gymnastics, Salsa y Sol, Mimosa Montessori and Little Blossom Yoga.

Check out the programme below:

LIVE SESSIONS ON SATURDAY 13th FEBRUARY

PRE-RECORDED SESSIONS TO TRY WHENEVER YOU LIKE

MORE TO READ AND DO!

For lots of great kids' activities and other resources, check out Hampshire Cultural Trust's 'Culture on Call' website, with its Kidzone here. 

Here are some of our favourite activities:

• Learn to make a bird feeder out of pine cones here
• Find some beautiful Winchester Cathedral and King Alfred's statue colouring sheets here
• Create your own piece of history by making a family time capsule here

Winchester SALT has set up a new local network for those involved in community sport in the Winchester area: the Winchester Community Sport Alliance.

The aim of the Winchester Community Sport Alliance is to:

• help the community sport sector to engage in the development of new or improved sport and recreational facilities in Winchester
• help community sport sector organisations to share information and resources, including through the Winchester ClubHub
• help community sport sector organisations to get involved in local events, including the annual Children of Winchester Festival (COWfest) 

By "community sport sector organisations" we mean the local clubs, charities and small enterprises that provide sporting opportunities to people in the city of Winchester and surrounding area. Any such organisation can join the Alliance, as can individual supporters of the sector.

Please check the relevant box to let us know whether you are a sports club, sports enterprise, charity or individual when you sign up – and please let us know the name of your organisation, or if you're signing up as an individual then please tell us which city/town/village you live in. Thank you!

You can expect to receive occasional newsletters, updating you on key developments in the community sport sector and outlining opportunities for you to engage. Of course, if you no longer want to stay in touch, you can unsubscribe at any time.

------

This site is hosted by NationBuilder. We use NationBuilder because it has SSL encryption and it helps us to connect with local people and other supporters of our work. NationBuilder's privacy policy can be found here. If you have created a NationBuilder profile, you control this and can edit it, or ask NationBuilder to erase it by emailing [email protected]

Winchester SALT takes your privacy seriously. We will only contact you using NationBuilder if you have given us permission to do so, and you can opt out at any time. Please contact us if you wish to access, rectify, or erase the information we hold about you on this site, by emailing [email protected]

This campaign was successful!

Further to the Open Letter and discussions with Tesco PLC, the company agreed to sell the Garrison Ground to Winchester City Council in December 2016. The council then committed to safeguard it for sport and leisure use, and has developed an 'urban design framework' that incorporates the Garrison Ground into a Winchester Sport and Leisure Park with sports pitches and play areas alongside new indoor facilities. 

We have fed into the consultation process for the park, and encouraged Winchester City Council to protect all remaining playing fields at Bar End with Fields In Trust. THEY HAVE NOW AGREED TO DO SO! (as of early 2020)

Thank you to all who supported these efforts!

FAO: John Allan, Non-executive Chairman, and Dave Lewis, Group Chief Executive, Tesco PLC

COWfest is the Children of Winchester Festival, and it will run for the first time in 2016! It's all happening on the weekend of 13th and 14th February, at the Tower Arts Centre at Kings' School. The aim of COWfest is to showcase local talent and bring new audiences to Winchester's youth arts providers, and to give children a chance to have a go at different creative activities through workshops. We also hope for local young people to be involved in planning and marketing the festival. We are starting small in 2016, but our aim is to develop the festival over the coming years and to make it a regular feature of Winchester's festival calendar.

Check out the details of workshops and performances as we post them here, and join in the fun!

If you are are aged 14+, you can volunteer to help at COWfest 2016 by completing a short online form here. 

What's on at COWfest 2024?
Posted by Emma Back · January 22, 2024 10:33 PM · 1 reaction

COWfest 2024 – HOLD THE DATE!
Posted by Emma Back · January 03, 2024 1:03 PM · 1 reaction

COWfest 2023 – What's on offer?
Posted by Emma Back · January 17, 2023 9:44 AM · 1 reaction