Stanley Stories Community Festival

Join us in celebration of the people, past and present, who have shaped South Norwood as we approach our 120th anniversary at Stanley Arts.

Share your memories, connect with the community and learn about local history through our series of heritage engagement events.

Come by for anything from a quick look around an exhibition to a full family day out. Drop in on memory mapping events to share your stories or get your hands dirty in our historic herb garden. Inclusivity is at the heart of our programme and our new accessible refurbishments have opened up more of our historic building to the public so we can welcome everyone. 

Events include:

Trash or Treasure junk modelling, Memory Mapping & a family treasure hunt followed by Stanley Sharing open mic night all from our wonderful resident theatre company, Zoo Co!

Join Jane Rogers, Community Horticultural Learning Coordinator at Kew Gardens for a session on Historic Herb Gardens anytime between 1.30-5pm, get an expert led gallery tour of our brilliant photography exhibition with curator John Hickman at 2pm or come along for a performance of The Anglo-Indian Journey (Talking About My Generation by Maya Productions at 4pm!

Fancy a free hot drink?! If you’re a National Lottery player, bring along your ticket and claim a free tea or coffee from our cafe as a thanks for making our programme possible.

BSL interpreters will be available between 1 – 8pm to support people wanting to participate in the hands on activities and open mic night. When you arrive, ask for an interpreter if you need one – no need to book in advance!

If you wish to join an activity, we suggest going with times below so an interpreter is available for your chosen activity:

Historic Herb Garden: 4 – 4.30pm
Trash or Treasure junk modelling: 4.30 – 5pm
Memory Mapping: 5 – 5.40pm
Stanley Sharing open mic: 6 – 8pm