This December, we want to reimagine what a Christmas show can be – with less waste, less energy, and more warmth, joy, and creativity.
We’re inviting companies, artists, or innovative technicians to pitch a co-produced Christmas show that places sustainability at the heart of its making, not necessarily in the story it tells.
Inspired by the Theatre Green Book, we’re looking for a production that is:
🌱 Low-cost and low-waste – Think reuse, repurpose, reimagine: sustainable set, costume and props that tell a story of circular design. ⚡ Energy-aware – How can you use less energy? Can your lighting or sound source its own energy? Could the show power itself differently – solar, battery, even pedal-powered? 🏗️ Light-touch in process – Minimised travel, minimal build, maximum creativity. 🎁 Cosy, joyful and full of heart – A feel-good, festive experience for audiences of all ages. Not worthy or heavy – just full of wonder and delight.
We’re especially excited by non-traditional formats – gig theatre, intimate storytelling, low-energy spectacle. The kind of work that makes people smile without switching everything on.
What we’re offering:
– A 12-show co-production partnership with intoBodmin at The Old Library in December 2025 – £1000 towards making the show – 70% of all ticket sales over the run – Producing support and rehearsal space (subject to availability) – Deadline to pitch: Sunday 15th June
Send us your spark of an idea – it could be a short proposal, a video, some sketches, or even a conversation starter. We’re not looking for a perfect pitch, just a good idea that aligns with our values.
In this podcast Fin chats to our Venue and Fundraising Lead, Lisa Glithero about: – her experience working for the community organisation, Baked Bean Theatre Company in London – the importance of inclusive theatre practice. – how stories can be told in different ways. – her greatest challenge climbing a mountain. – returning to Cornwall and how she discovered intoBodmin – what a typical day at The Old Library looks like for Lisa – building relationships and the importance of a cup of tea – what a typical day at The Old Library looks like for Lisa
Welcome to the adventure! This year, the Time Keepers Guild is calling on families, young explorers, and the young at heart to join the Spring Trail—a FREE family-friendly quest designed to unlock Bodmin’s hidden watery wonders. Whether you’re a local or visiting during Easter, our trail will lead you through enchanted streets, secret wells, and mysterious clues that bring ancient legends to life.
A Quest Inspired by Water and Wonder
The Spring Trail is back for 2025, and it’s better than ever! Inspired by last year’s magical journey and this years Puzzle Panel, we’ve reimagined the adventure with fresh puzzles and legends that celebrate the ever-changing, ever-inviting flow of water throughout Bodmin. Follow the current of clues, dive into the secrets of our historic wells, and uncover the tale of the lost Bucca—a mythical sea creature that has washed ashore in need of your help.
“Let the magic of water guide you to adventure!”
Meet the Time Keepers Guild
Deep within Bodmin’s winding streets, the Time Keepers Guild has uncovered a mystery: the beloved Bucca has lost its way, and its magical scales are scattered like droplets along our ancient pathways. Now, the Guild needs your insight and curiosity to restore the balance of nature. By solving a series of engaging puzzles and following hidden clues, you can help guide the Bucca back to its ocean home.
The Time Keepers Guild Journal
Every great quest begins with a map! Our beautifully designed Time Keepers Guild Journal is your indispensable guide to the Spring Trail. Inside, you’ll discover:
Bubbling Puzzles & Secret Clues: Navigate Bodmin’s watery wonders and unlock the mysteries of the Bucca.
Enchanting Tales: Follow the narrative woven into every page as you journey through historic sites and hidden spots.
Local Adventures: Explore places you’ve never seen before, with each location adding a splash of color and magic to your quest.
Pop into The Old Library on the top of the High St (open Mon – Fri 9am – 4pm) to pick up your FREE copy, or visit our website for more information.
Launching at Bodmin Market
We’re kicking off this year’s Spring Trail with a splash! Join us at the intoBodmin stall at Bodmin Market on Saturday, 29th March between 9am and 2pm. Here’s what you can expect:
FREE Time Keepers Guild Journals: Grab your essential guide to start your adventure.
Craft: Pick up a Free Spring Trail craft bag to take away.
Create: Try your hand at creating pop-up eco-artwork with artist Josie Purcell.
Complete the Quest – And Reap the Rewards
As you journey through the Spring Trail, you’ll gather clues and solve puzzles at your own pace, discovering Bodmin’s secret nooks along the way. When you complete your journal, be sure to:
Claim Your Certificate and Badge: Visit The Old Library Café (open Mon – Fri 9am – 4pm) with your completed journal before 21st April.
Enjoy Exclusive Treats: Get 20% off a kids’ picnic bag from The Old Library Café to recharge after your adventure.
Enter Our Competition: Submit your completed journal to enter our prize draw for a magical two-night stay in a Hobbit Hut, courtesy of Acorn Camping & Glamping. Details are provided in the back of the journal.
Your Easter Adventure Awaits!
If you’re looking for a fun way to get out of the house this Easter, the Time Keepers Spring Trail will be available for you to pick up and complete through to the 21st April. With puzzles to solve, stories to discover, and watery places to explore, there’s no better way to celebrate the season than by joining us on this one-of-a-kind adventure.
Some info about the trail accessibility
The routes have been selected to be as accessible as possible. There is a mixture of pavements and grass, so if you are taking a buggy or using a wheelchair you may have to make some judgement calls on how you access the landmarks.
We mapped the longer trail as taking 10,000 steps, so be prepared for a day out! We recommend taking a packed lunch.
You’ll find a QR code in the journal that will take you to Google Maps so you can plan your adventure in advance.
We made the puzzle book so you can get out and about to explore nature. However, the puzzles are designed so that you don’t have to visit all the land-marks, you can still complete the adventure and claim your certificate and badge.
Ready to dive in?
Visit The Old Library on the top of the High St to pick up your FREE copy of the Time Keepers Guild Journal (Mon – Fri 9am – 4pm), Bodmin’s hidden magic awaits you!
…and help us create the puzzles for Bodmin’s Spring Trail!
What is the Spring Trail?
Last year, the Spring Trail was in the form of an adventure map and puzzles where participants helped The Guild of Timekeepers find a missing item. The trail took participants around the town and explored the shops and organisations that Bodmin has to offer!
This year, The Guild of Timekeepers are back! This time to explore the mystery of the ‘history leak’ that seems to be dripping out of the town’s historic wells. It will guide participants will embark on a treasure hunt-style adventure around the town exploring Bodmin’s connection to water and some of Bodmin’s beautiful parks and green spaces.
We will have a launch day on the 29th March (the day the clocks change) where you can pick up your trail, do it on the day and join in some children’s craft activities. However, the trail will run over several weeks.
What is the Puzzle Panel?
If you are interested in creative writing, history, nature and the environment and/or…puzzles and riddles... then we need you!
We are looking for some members of a new club with a mixture of skills and interests that will help us create some fun and exciting puzzles for a family friendly trail this spring.
We wish to create a series of small puzzle questions that can be printed as part of an ‘adventure journal’ that can be completed while on the trail or from the comfort of a cafe or park bench, that will compliment a fun and exciting narrative around the theme of a mysterious ‘history leak’ from Bodmin’s wells.
What could this include?
Give us feedback and advice on our narrative and theme as we create a trail that explores Bodmin’s historic wells and leat that runs beneath our town and feet!
Create puzzles and riddles!
Research folklore, nature and history and feedback to the group
Explore nature and the wells of Bodmin to create additional activities
Meet new people
Oh and… free tea and biscuits!
The Puzzle Panel will assemble…
At The Old Library @ 6pm – 7:30pm on Thursday 6th , 13th, 20th and 27th February.
Final thought: If you enjoy your time as part of the Puzzle Panel then we will look to support ways in which this group can continue as a regular activity group.
Do you want to know more? Pop into The Old Library on a Tuesday and ask for Mimi or email: mimi@intobodmin.co.uk
This activity is funded by Cornwall Council as part of their Active Travel Project which is aiming to increase the number of people using active travel, eg walking or cycling to complete journeys. There will be 4 dates for each these walks and we hope they give you the confidence to take this walk or to buddy up with other people who may attend. If you would like more information email sara@intobodmin.co.uk or ring us on 01208 811185
If you attended our House Warming re-opening event then you might have spotted Tanja Durant quietly sketching in the corner. Tanja is a Gig Sketch Artist and you will normally find her at parties, weddings and celebrations documenting the event on her digital sketch pad, observing the guests and picking up on the conversation and the mood. This is Tanja’s interpretation of our Open Day – we hope you love it as much as we do…….
There is a new project coming to Bodmin for September – the Community Cooking Club. Bringing the community together through food is something that Beth, our Cafe Manager feels really passionate about and is what she and her team will be focusing on while The Old Library Cafe is shut and the building undergoes renovations.
Beth is collecting details from anyone who is interested in saving money, sharing skills, and using up surplus food with preserving, batch cooking, no waste cooking and group cook ups. There will be lots of trying new foods and recipes!
If you are interested in joining then let Beth know by emailing cafe@intobodmin.co.uk or pop into Shop 14 (next to Oggy Oggy) and see Shannon on a Mon, Weds or Fri between 10-12pm.
Hospital Rooms is running a series of fun, creative workshops in collaboration with intoBodmin for people with lived experience of inpatient mental health services.
These workshops are part of a project that Hospital Rooms is running with Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Twelve artists have been commissioned to create brand new, site-specific artworks for the inpatient wards in Bodmin and Redruth, and would like to provide an opportunity for you to share your ideas and experiences about what could make these spaces better.
The workshops will be taking place at The Shire Hall on Mount Folly Square, in the centre of Bodmin. Each session will last two hours with a break in the middle. They are completely free and include all art materials, and tea, coffee and cake. You are welcome to sign up to as many of the workshops as you like.
For more information about the workshops and accessibility, and to sign up, please head to the Eventbrite page
If you have any questions, access needs, or would like some help with registering, please contact izzy@hospital-rooms.com
intoBodmin team secure building’s future for the local community
The team at intoBodmin are celebrating having bought The Old Library at the top of Bodmin’s high street, which has been their base since 2017. The sale, which was confirmed on 4th July 2023, is the result of having achieved a total £640k of grant funding which the Community Interest Company will also use to fully refurbish the Grade II listed John Passmore Edwards library.
The Old Library is home to a vibrant community hub run by intoBodmin. The building hosts a community café, shared co-working spaces and rooms for hire, plus a licensed venue with a varied events programme. However, the historic building is in poor condition and expensive to run: over the last year, it has cost £120 a day to cover the building’s basic overheads.
Initially raising £115k from Arts Council England, and £60k from Cornwall Council’s proposed devolution deal with the UK Government to purchase the building from Cornwall Council, the intoBodmin team have been awarded a further £465k from the Architectural Heritage Fund, Arts Council England, and the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Cornwall Council has been chosen by Government as a Lead Authority for the fund and is responsible for monitoring the progress of projects funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The fund has provided £180k for the Old Library project.
Director Fin Irwin said “From the very beginning, our ambition has always been to purchase The Old Library to secure it as a community space – and owning the building means we’ve been able to win this vital funding to invest in the library and give it a more secure future. It will also allow more of our income to be re-invested into the our community work, rather than paying high running costs”.
Nema Hart, Arts Council England, South West, Director of Place, Economy and Partnerships, says: “It’s fantastic to be supporting the development of The Old Library, a building with a rich legacy, for the creative community and residents of Bodmin. At the Arts Council, we value access to shared spaces for learning, creative engagement, and collaboration – so we’re pleased to see The Old Library in the capable hands of intoBodmin, who are committed to transforming it into a venue that’s open to all, and fit for the future. We can’t wait to see the positive impacts it will bring.”
Repairs and upgrades will focus on making the building warm, watertight and welcoming, as well as reducing its carbon footprint and running costs. The overall facilities will be improved, and energy efficient lighting and heating systems installed – including solar panels donated by Clean Earth.
The building will close for up to 6 months while the refurbishment breathes new life into the iconic building in Bodmin’s town centre. The intoBodmin team and their programme of community activity will be moving to Shop 14 on Fore Street while the redevelopment takes place.
Irwin continued, “This purchase and renovation is such a great opportunity for Bodmin and our organisation. In 1897, the great Cornish philanthropist John Passmore Edwards opened this building as a free library for the people of Bodmin. 126 years later and intoBodmin are able to repair the fabric of the building and make it a community resource fit for the 21st century. We are proud to be able to build on the legacy of The Old Library building, and excited to share this space with all the wonderful people who use it and those who will discover it in the future.”
intoBodmin is an arts and community organisation, which was set up in 2017 by Bodmin local Fin Irwin when the town’s public library provision was moved to a new location and the Public Rooms were sold – all of which threatened to leave Bodmin without a home for culture and the arts. After taking on The Old Library’s lease from Cornwall Council, over the past five years intoBodmin have developed the building into the thriving community hub and arts venue it is today.
Tash Arnold, Co-Director and project lead for the purchase and refurbishment, added “We are so grateful to all our funders – particularly the Architectural Heritage Fund, which has supported our project from the very beginning. Many different teams at Cornwall Council supported and advised us throughout the process, as well as our local councillor Pat Rogerson, and our local MP, Scott Mann.”
The programme of works will begin in July 2023 and are due to be completed in 6 months, with the building reopening in January 2024.
IMAGE CREDITS
intoBodmin 1: The Knit-and-natter group, organised by intoBodmin’s Craft Lead Julie Griffen, which meets at the Old Library every Wednesday, celebrate outside The Old Library. In the centre are intoBodmin team with supporters and representatives of funding bodies, including Pat Rogerson, Cornwall Councillor (St Mary’s and St Leonard); Fin Irwin, Founder and Co-Director; Tash Arnold, Co-Director; Steve Facer Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Good Growth Team; Calum McGrath, Senior Parliamentary Assistant to Scott Mann MP; Michael Muldowney, Senior Communications Officer to Scott Mann MP.
intoBodmin 2: The intoBodmin team on the steps of The Old Library, celebrating with supporters and representatives of funding bodies. Front row, L-R: Pat Rogerson, Cornwall Councillor (St Mary’s and St Leonard); Fin Irwin, Founder and Co-Director; Tash Arnold, Co-Director; Steve Facer Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Good Growth Team. Back row, L-R: Calum McGrath, Senior Parliamentary Assistant to Scott Mann MP; Michael Muldowney, Senior Communications Officer to Scott Mann MP.
