BOOKING opens next week for local folk who want to sign up for the borough's rescheduled T100 walking, talking and making festival: T100 Calling, which will take place between 12 and 27 September.

Over the five years that T100 has taken place, each year has had a different theme.

This year residents are being invited to join a series of walks and picnics along the Thames Estuary, starting and ending in the newly named Purfleet–on–Thames.

The festival was originally planned to take place in July, but was postponed because of coronavirus.

Creative arts company Kinetika is once more behind the event and says T100 Calling is a call to action in response to the climate emergency and an opportunity for communities to make changes to their local area and to creatively re-imagine their futures.

Communities across Thurrock - and also Southend - are invited to get involved and make the festival their own by leading walks or helping to create artworks.

A key element of this year's festival will be the creation of a series of mandalas (a geometric configuration of symbols) made from found items and specially collected materials, specific to each location.

T100 Calling launches at the High House Production Park on Saturday 12 September with a preview of the T100 exhibition and lunch in the walled garden. The Southend leg of the festival is this year online: On 13 and 15 September, people can explore the foreshore and a local green space, create a mandala from found materials and share online. Kinetika has been working with Southend Beach Care to create mandalas on the beach.

The walks then link key locations at which mandalas will be made.

They are:

Wed Sept 16: Germination – Langdon Hills, Thurrock – Working with site rangers walkers can take guided tours and talks focused on the importance of maintaining forests and the essential role that local green spaces have played during lockdown. A mandala will be made using natural materials collected on route to connect with nature, reflect and rewild.

Sat 19 Sept: Spring Clean - Grays Beach, Thurrock – Using plastic taken out of the Thames by a local litter picking group, walkers will make a mandala to highlight the issue of plastic pollution in discussions with Thames 21.

Sun 20 Sept: Make Do and Mend - Tilbury Foreshore - Reclaiming public space and making a glistening mandala from ceramics and glass, the event will upcycle broken things into a beautiful work of art. There will be tours of the International Cruise Terminal lead by Tilbury Riverside Project and the launch of the art installation installation 'Tilbury Bridge Walkway of Memories'.

Tues 22 Sept: In Other People's Shoes – Bata Heritage Centre, East Tilbury – What does it feel like to be in someone else's shoes? Walkers are invited to bring a favourite pair of shoes to this walk and then share stories, reflecting on the journeys travelled on foot, before creating a shoe mandala.

Wed 23 Sept: Imagination Our Nation – Hardie Park, Stanford-le-Hope, Thurrock - Working with Friends of Hardie Park, learn about this beautifully transformed community park and initiatives the Friends run and make a mandala using TerraCycle materials; reflecting on ways everyone can make a difference.

Sat 26 Sept: Renewal – Little Belhus Country Park, South Ockendon, Thurrock –Rural Arisings and the Grass Roof Company will join walkers in the creation of a new insect habitat; using recycled brick, concrete and cement, to make a permanent mandala on a capped landfill site that is being transformed into a country park.

Sun 27 Sept: Grow Your Own - High House Production Park, Purfleet-on-Thames, Thurrock Working with Heavenly Greens Fruit & Veg, local community groups and in partnership with developers PCRL, Kinetika and partners from across the Production Park will host a celebratory event focused on the theme of sustainable communities, including food production and distribution. The mandala here will be made from locally grown produce.

Additionally, walks will also take place in Tilbury from the Cruise Terminal to the World's End pub on Thursday, 17 September and from Purfleet-on-Thames to intu Lakeside for lunch on the boardwalk on Wednesday, 24 September.

All T100 Calling walks are free but booking is essential. All T100 Calling events have been planned in line with government advice in relation to Covid – 19 and as a result places are limited and must be booked in advance. All events will be for a maximum of 30 people operating in bubbles of 6. As a result, some walks and activities must be booked separately. To find out more and to book, click here

Everyone can join in T100 Calling by making mandalas which can be shared on the Facebook Group T100 Walking Arts for others to enjoy. Find out about creating mandalas and see the mandala gallery on the T100 website and check for details of events in each area or themes to inspire making a mandala via this link. Kinetika is also working with Thurrock CVS and Our Road to create mandalas in streets across Thurrock. To get involved contact [email protected]

T100 Calling is made possible by support from Arts Council England, Thurrock Council and