Let’s celebrate the ideas that can #BuildBootleBackBetter.

It feels like a different time, but back in September, we launched Bootle Festival of Ideas. Alongside Kindred, the project was commissioned by Sefton Council as part of the year’s celebration for Sefton Borough of Culture. 
The eight-week programme inspired local people to share ideas related to five themes – Making and Selling; Food and growing; music and culture; health and wellbeing and spaces for change. Through the festival, the work became more relevant than ever, as the focus shifted to how peoples ideas would help Bootle #BuildBackBetter, after the impacts of COVID-19 on the town.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the festival has been a roaring success. 160 people attended 6 events and generated 98 ideas. A number of ideas were developed with the support from festival mentors and 8 final ideas will be awarded a share of the grant pot at the festival Celebration Event on 2nd December.
The final event will take place online and we’ll be presenting all of the submissions and announcing the winners of the development pot. We’ll be celebrating on Zoom to show the audience what a future Bootle could look like.