T100 Dreaming

With a series of specially curated walks, T100 Dreaming invites communities to come together to share their dreams, creatively re-imagining a better future as we emerge into a post–Covid world. T100 Dreaming will celebrate the sense of community spirit that the pandemic heightened as we dream of a more cohesive, creative and sustainable future.

The festival is part of Kinetika’s wider regional project Beach of Dreams, a 500-mile walk from Lowestoft to Tilbury during which 500 dreams will be collected and represented on 500 silk pennants.

The festival launch takes place 10 – 13 June with four new walks, then the main programme takes place 26 July – 1 August.

The creation of four new walking routes for T100 Dreaming has been supported by Active Essex and Essex Cultural Diversity Project. Walkers will have the opportunity to follow these newly devised walks which celebrate Thurrock’s heritage, its’ diverse communities and links to the wider world.

In addition, an exhibition that celebrates the journey and history of the T100 festival will be open to the public on the 13 June at the High House Production Park.

The T100 exhibition captures the spirit of the festival and the people and places who have taken part along the routes over the last six years. Alongside the display boards there are a range of beautiful items made during T100 over the years, including handmade journals, gorgeous silk flags, printed tablecloths, maps and recipes plus a series of short films by Fotis Begklis.

Find out about the programme here

JUNE 

Thurs 10 June:
5.30-7pm ‘Tilbury is the Place For Me’
Join us as we celebrate Tilbury’s rich heritage, examine the present and imagine its’ future.

Inspired by Lord Kitchener’s 1948 Calypso "London is the Place for Me" sung upon arrival at Tilbury Docks on the Empire Windrush, a new piece of music is being created - 'Tilbury is the Place for Me'. This new song for Tilbury is being created in partnership with English Heritage, Kinetika Bloco and award-winning, Trinidad born musician, Anthony Joseph working with local Youth Services and the Tilbury community and will be played at the T100 Dreaming finale at Tilbury Fort on 1 August.

This walk ends with a sneak peak of the rehearsals taking place and an opportunity for walkers to learn more about this vibrant musical genre.

Fri 11 June:
6-8pm ‘Town Taster’ – Grays
Meet the chefs and sample the delicious variety of world food available on Grays high street, including English, Chinese, Indian, African and Bulgarian cuisine culminating with a cocktail at sunset on the banks of the Thames. Led by local walk leaders, you can get to know the people of Grays and their aspirations for the future

Sat 12 June:
1-4pm ‘In Other People’s Shoes’ – East Tilbury
Join us for a walk around East Tilbury exploring the residential, industrial and social legacy of Thomas Bata’s Utopian vision from the 1930s and ending at Coalhouse Fort, for afternoon tea. During the walk, Sadie Hasler will lead a conversation, asking you to put yourselves in the shoes of your role model. What do you aspire to achieve? What can we achieve here by walking together?

Sat 12 June:
7-8pm Online film screening of 4 short documentaries by Fotis Begklis of T100 Calling Festival 2020

Sun 13 June:
10-4pm ‘Grow Your Own’ – Purfleet-on-Thames
Meet the Purfleet-on-Thames community and hear about their journeys and connection to the place through the sharing of food, recipes and music. Together we will capture our dream for a sustainable community by creating a recipe for Purfleet.

With contributions from Heavenly Greens Fruit & Veg, The Backstage Centre, South Essex College, local community groups and in partnership with developers PCRL (Purfleet Centre Regeneration Limited), walkers are invited to this celebratory event on the theme of sustainable communities, culminating in a shared picnic made from local produce.

This walk will be split into two parts –
10am-12.30pm: Meet at Rainham RSPB. This circular walk to Rainham Concrete barges will include an event hosted by Inspiral London inspired by the Bow Gamelan Ensemble performance in 1987.

12.30-4pm: Meet at Rainham RSPB. This walk will visit the Heritage and Military Centre for a 'welcome to Purfleet' talk and then lead to Heavenly Greens Fruit & Veg stall to meet local residents who will join us on the walk to High House Production Park for a picnic. Heavenly Greens Fruit & Veg customers will share a few of their recipes from around the world.


JULY

Mon 26 July:
'Imagination Our Nation' – Stanford-le-Hope
A walk from Stanford-le-Hope to Thameside Nature Discovery Park, a stunning and innovative visitor centre built on a former landfill site, with superb views over Mucking Flats SSSI and the Thames Estuary. Great birdwatching, insect watching and ship watching.
After lunch the walk returns to Stanford-le-Hope station.
This walk joins Beach of Dreams Walk 29 as it arrives in Stanford-le-Hope.

Tues 27 July:
‘In Other People’s Shoes’ – East Tilbury
This walk starts alongside Beach of Dreams Walk 30 in Thameside Nature Discovery Park and makes its way to East Tilbury where the residential, industrial and social legacy of Thomas Bata’s Utopian vision from the 1930s will be highlighted.
During the walk, Sadie Hasler will lead a conversation, asking you to put yourselves in the shoes of your role model. What do you aspire to achieve? What can we achieve here by walking together?
This walk ends at the Bata Memorial Gardens followed by an optional return to the starting point. Walkers from Beach of Dreams will continue on their longer route.

Wed 28 July:
Germination – Langdon Hills
This walk joins with Beach of Dreams Walk 31 following the same route.
We travel through the former Dunton Plotlands before heading across to the Mardyke, staying beside it through what was fenland until the 1960s.


Thurs 29 July:
Renewal – Little Belhus Country Park
This walk at Little Belhus Country Park revisits the insect habitat mandala created during T100 2020 to see it in full bloom. Taking inspiration from growing wild flowers on brownfield sites we will imagine the future of this landscape that has been transformed from landfill and how it encourages us to think differently about the future of Thurrock.
This walk meets Beach of Dreams Walk 32 and walkers can choose to join the Beach of Dreams group continuing to RSPB Rainham or return to Ockenden Town.

Fri 30 July:
'Grow Your Own’ – Purfleet-On-Thames
Almost a circular walk, it begins at RSPB Rainham and meets the end of the Beach of Dreams Walk 33 as it passes the Kinetika studios on the return to Purfleet-on-Thames.
There will be echoes of the walk from 13 June and opportunities to learn more about the Purfleet-on-Thames community, ending with a sunset picnic at the Purfleet Beacon.

Sat 31 July:
'Spring Clean’ – Grays
Long and Short option avaliable
The start of this walk joins with Beach of Dreams Walk 34.
The route is beside the Thames almost the whole way alongside the famous mile long grafitti wall. There is plenty of industry, but wilder patches too, as we cross under the QEII Bridge on our way to Grays.

In Grays, there is the option to join this walk at Thameside Theatre (option 2).

There will be echoes of the town taster walk from 11 June meeting the chefs and sample the delicious variety of world food available on Grays High Street and culminating in a colourful procession from the High Street to Grays Beach.

Carrying our Spring Clean message through to 2021 we will work with the Thameside Theatre, Riverside Local, Thames 21 Volunteers, The Lightship Café, and Grays Yacht Club to clean up the foreshore and bring it to life in a celebratory event for Grays. The event will end with the Beach of Dreams silks setting sail into the sunset as we reflect on our aspiration of a plastic free beach-front and a clean future for our great great grandchildren.


Sun 1 August:
‘Tilbury is the Place For Me’
Join us as we celebrate Tilbury’s rich heritage whilst imagining the future.
Inspired by Lord Kitchener’s 1948 Calypso "London is the Place for Me" sung upon arrival at Tilbury Docks on the Empire Windrush, a new piece of music is being created -‘Tilbury is the Place for Me’. This new song for Tilbury is being created in partnership with English Heritage, Kinetika Bloco and award-winning, Trinidad born musician, Anthony Joseph working with local Youth Services and the Tilbury community and will be played at this T100 Dreaming finale at Tilbury Fort.

During the day there will be performances from the Kinetika Bloco and workshops including a calypso movement session in preparation for the finale performance 'Tilbury is the Place for Me'.

Walkers from Beach of Dreams Walk 35 will join the T100 finale at Tilbury Fort.

Find out more about each curated walk, including start times, exact locations and activities here.  

About the project
T100 is an annual walking, talking and making festival that encourages stories to surface in Thurrock. Over the last six years it has travelled on a journey with a growing team of local volunteers, one year spontaneously building the theme for the next.

Thurrock 100 Festival was conceived by Ali Pretty and started by Kinetika in 2015, through collaboration with a wide range of local partners it has become increasingly locally led and reflective of grassroots identity. It has brought people together and connected them to local places and spaces.

What began as a 100-mile marathon across the borough, has developed into a festival that starts and ends in Thurrock and stretches along and across the estuary, into Southend and over to Kent.

Photo: Ali Pretty