Christmas Fair & Creative Wellbeing, November 2025
Our Biggest Community Celebration Yet:
Christmas Fair Round-Up
This year’s Christmas Fair at Coda was our biggest and brightest celebration to date - a heart-warming day filled with artistry, music, and festive cheer. With an estimated 500 visitors through the doors, the event brought our community together in a truly special way.
Set within Coda’s beautifully converted Stables, the festive market showcased the talent and imagination of 14 artisan stall holders, offering everything from handmade jewellery and ceramics to textiles, cards, and planet-friendly wrapping paper. It was wonderful to see so many people supporting local makers and discovering unique gifts for the season.
Throughout the day, the atmosphere was lifted by 7 live music performances, spanning acoustic strings, jazz, rock, ukulele, and of course a joyful finale from the Coda Choir. Their performances brought warmth and energy to every corner of Coda.
Visitors were also invited behind the scenes with 3 open studios, offering a glimpse into the creative spaces that make Coda such a vibrant hub for arts and community. We were also treated to a free ‘Smash the Patriarchy’ Embroidery workshop from artists Vic Briggs and Tracey Dove.
This was also Bramble Hill Cafe’s biggest day yet, providing our guests with festive hot drinks and freshly baked cakes throughout the weekend, which after a non-stop day of service on Saturday, they eventually sold out of! A huge thank you to Debbie and Molly for looking after our attendees and offering such warm hospitality to all who joined us.
Thank you to our artists, musicians, stall holders, volunteers, and every member of the community who joined us to celebrate the festive season. Your support and generosity made the day unforgettable.
We’re already excited for what next year will bring, but for now, we’re still glowing from all the creativity and connection shared at this year’s Christmas Fair.
Creative Wellbeing in our Community
After a full year of running our twice-monthly music and art sessions on the Elderly Care Ward at University Hospital Bournemouth, we’re really pleased to share that our work there will continue throughout 2026.
Meanwhile, our Creative Wellbeing Programme - a free, weekly drop-in art group led by local facilitators - continues to provide a welcoming creative space for adults with a wide range of mental health needs across our five local venues.