Footsteps Festival 2021
The Footsteps Festival 2021 –is a year-long festival celebrating living well with pain and has been running since January 2021.
The Festival was conceived by a group of people who connected on Twitter and is a true coproduction with no hierarchy. The core group includes those who live with pain with many and varied conditions and personal characteristics, health care professionals which include Physiotherapists, Clinical Psychologists, GPs, Consultants, and also Academics and those working in Pain research.
The Festival is entirely on line as it was dreamt up during the first Covid 19 lockdown. It’s been hugely successful so far and is gaining momentum. Our events (all in “Tents” such as the Active Zone, the People Place or the Main Stage) include:
Step into Singing with Opera North – singing workshops designed for people who live with pain in blocks throughout the year.
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course with Diarmuid Denenny,
“Ten Footsteps” – a 6 week on-line Pain management Programme with Dr Frances Cole and Clinical Psychologist Chris Penlington
Chronic Pain the Dr Seuss Way – with Flippin Pain
Queen of Pain – with Professor Irene Tracey
Smart Phone Photography with Jo Bradford
Zentangling – Calm and Creative Doodling with Mindfulness Skills4Life
Step into Easeful Movement with Rajvi Shah (movement classes)
The Step and En-Joy – both mindful movement and breathwork classes with Desponia Karargyri
Book Plug – many events where books written about pain are discussed by the author and participants
Cookfulness – cooking made easy with Ian Taverner
Sleeping with Pain – with Dr Sue Peacock
Therapeutic Knitting with Betsan Corkhill
The Discovery Zone – a website area which is supported by the Cochrane Review and many top academics, to encourage people living with pain to get involved in research.
And many many more!
Most of the events are available on our website to watch as a trusted resource and we have social gatherings–
a weekly “coffee and chat” drop in (Monday AM)
a weekly “create and chat” (Tuesday eve)
a monthly “pet show and tell” (Sunday eve)
The feedback from participants is very positive and our attendances have been gratifying, as has the support from those in the medical and academic research fields who generously donate their time and expertise. The lived experience volunteers are thriving. We are also very well supported by the arts – with Opera North and Balbir Singh Dance Company being valued collaborators.
We are all volunteers and all the administration and promotion is done by the Festival Team, bar some website assistance and design which we pay for. We are grateful to be supported by the Live Well With Pain Website and the Physiotherapy Pain Association and we are also raising money to keep the Festival free for everyone.
Please do check us out at:
https://my.livewellwithpain.co.uk/festival/explore-the-festival/
or contact myself Niki Jones: