Photos: Matt Mellen
On Sunday 12 July, the final day of Frome Festival 2026, local children took over the town centre for the WE ARE NATURE parade. Paraders wore handmade animal masks, created at a series of workshops with primary-age children at eight Frome schools, led by artists Caroline Till and Kate Keara Pelen, with the parade marking the colourful culmination of a town-wide creative project, exploring our existence alongside and as part of nature, in a fun and accessible format that brought schools, families and organisations together in a single inspiring conversation.
The parade set off from Bath Street, led by Cheryl Sprinkler of Mojo Moves, Mayor of Frome Mark Dorrington, artists Kate and Caro and an array of creatures and beasts made by local puppeteers and puppeteers from Bristol Experimental Puppet Festival, pausing in the Market Place for a dance routine set to Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’. The dancing and the celebratory mood continued as the parade made its way through the Cattle Market to shade and refreshments in Welshmill Woods and an ‘after party’ with DJ Mother of Mankind, speeches by project co-creator Caroline Till of Tilt Futures and Cllr Sara Butler and a special performance by local nature rapper Nature Voices Raps.
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Caroline Till the project co-creator said
“This project was all about reminding us we are living, breathing beings within a living, breathing planet – and isn't that incredible! Kate and I started by delivering a special assembly and creative brief to all eight primary and first schools in Frome, talking with the children about our deep interconnectedness with nature – that we are part of it, not separate from it. We invited each child to step into the shoes of another species, seeing through their eyes to construct a wildlife mask to wear to the parade, so we could come together in one big celebration of creativity and nature.”
Six-year-old Eddie Stacey said “I enjoyed making the masks because I liked folding the zigzag paper to make a lion. I loved joining in the dance and felt proud doing it.”
Cllr Sara Butler said -
“What a gorgeous day – the mood was fantastic, the masks were beautiful and everyone had such a great time. Many thanks to Caroline and Kate in particular and to everyone who came together to create masks, join the parade and make this such a memorable event. The hot weather we had on Sunday, and too often, is an unsettling reminder that our natural world needs us to do better - and unlike the wild animals represented by the masks, as humans we do have the power to change things. This event was a hopeful, inspiring, unifying way to share that message and provide an experience our young people will always remember.”
Parent Sarah Straussberg said “There’s been such a great sense of community, with children, families, schools and local artists all involved. Watching the parade today has been a real celebration of creativity, nature and everything that makes Frome such a special place.”
The WE ARE NATURE Wildlife Parade was a partnership between Frome Town Council and Tilt Futures, working with artists Caroline Till and Kate Keara Pelen. Workshops took place at all primary-level Frome schools and at a series of community workshops in spring and summer 2026. Find out more about the work of FTC’s climate action team at frometowncouncil.gov.uk/our-community/our-sustainability-work/. Find out more about Tilt Futures at tiltfutures.co.
