Wassail Congleton Beartown! A Wild Spirited Welcome!

Name: Wassail Congleton Beartown! A Wild Spirited Welcome!
Start: 2026-01-24T16:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-01-24T20:30:00+00:00
Location: Wild Spirit Woods CIC, Wild Spirit Woods, Congleton Edge Road, CW12 3NA Congleton, United Kingdom

Schedule

Sat Jan 24 2026 at 04:00 pm to 08:30 pm

UTC+00:00

Location

Wild Spirit Woods CIC, Wild Spirit Woods, Congleton Edge Road, CW12 3NA Congleton, United Kingdom | Congleton, EN

Bless the land and trees at Wild Spirit Woods. Waking up the trees chasing away winter while showing gratitude for our wild world. A very merry uplifting way to begin our year!
Meet our very own 'Owd Bear' and we are delighted to welcome druid Simon Cottril and his 'Mercian Mari'!
We have TV cameras coming and there will be prizes for the best costumes!
This is a fundraiser to pay for site insurance making it accessible for more SEN children to come visit. More news on this soon!
What Can You Expect?
A merry band of revellers dressed in wild attire. (Think bears, Krampus, Green Man, fancy hats and greenery!) We will make merry with a great hullabaloo. We will sing to the trees a Wassailing song and gift an offering of traditional wassail drink and bread.
Afterwards we will parade to the tipi with big toasty fire, hot potatoes, veggie soup and drinks. A traditional Wassail cup will be served.
Historian and the founder of Ancient and Sacred Trees will give a short talk about how this tradition ties in with the fertility rituals of Europe.
There will be a small exhibition of traditional old European bells for you to look at and handle. ‘Congleton Bell Belt Day’ and its’ artefacts will also be discussed in this context too.
Special ‘bell’ sound healing once heard never forgotten!
Stay on for music while you eat, toast for good health and make merry.
Hurrah and Huzzah!
We wish you good cheer on this merry day!
What Do We Need To Bring?
This is a community event so please bring your drums, bells and pots and pans to help us wake up the trees and chase away the winter!
Dressing up in greenery or as animals! Think Green Man, Krampus, Bears, fancy hats, greenery, horns, and more!
Please bring torches and lanterns to light your way later.
Please wear clothing and footwear appropriate to the season and outdoor location.
A log for the fire would be appreciated if you have one.
Any musical instrument you would like to play is welcome for later.
(Need some inspiration? Check these links out:

or this one:

)
Community
This is an inclusive space, all are welcome. (If you are autistic you might like to bring noise cancelling headphones). The tipi has plenty of chairs and there will be a fire lit. Please bring a rug.
Friendly dogs On Leads welcome but please Be Aware Of The Noise!
NOTE! In the event of extreme bad weather we will defer to the following Saturday same time.
Tickets first come first serve otherwise a short walk up the hill.