Another fantastic session at our Carnival Costume Mentoring Programme!

This week our talented carnival costume group reached another exciting milestone as they began attaching the ties to their carnival costume pieces, bringing their amazing creations one step closer to completion.

🧵 The costumes are developing beautifully, but what really stood out this week was the incredible sense of community in the room. From the moment participants arrived, there was a real buzz of excitement and anticipation to get started. Throughout the session, they encouraged one another, shared ideas, celebrated each other’s progress, and naturally mentored one another. It was wonderful to see friendships continuing to grow, confidence flourish and a genuine family atmosphere develop. So much so that nobody wanted the session to end.

🌟 Programmes like this do so much more than develop creative skills. They help participants build confidence, resilience, communication and teamwork skills, while creating opportunities to make new friendships, develop leadership skills and experience a real sense of belonging within their community.

💬 Here is what some of our participants had to say:

💜 “Wow, these pieces are already looking amazing! My favourite part is watching it all come together. Great fun, family vibes as always. Always looking forward to Thursdays with my Carnival Crew!”

💚 “We love UKON. Everyone is so welcoming. There is always food for us to enjoy, something for the children to do, we are making friends, and they make it feel like family. We are always excited to come.”

💛 “It was the best. It was good.”

👏 A huge thank you to the wonderful team at Barking Learning Centre for their continued support and for providing such a welcoming space where creativity, learning and community can thrive.

🎉 This project is made possible with public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.