As September drew to a close, our communities gathered to celebrate Michaelmas – a festival rooted in the rhythms of nature, the harvest season, and the turning of the year. For Camphill Village Trust, festivals like Michaelmas are an important part of community life, marking the changing seasons and offering moments to reflect, celebrate, and look ahead together.
Celebrations Across the Trust
This year, our Northern communities – Botton Village, Croft and Larchfield – joined together at Botton Village for a vibrant day filled with colour and creativity. A highlight was the spectacular dragon puppet, created and paraded with joy, alongside the baking of traditional dragon bread, reminding us of the courage and warmth Michaelmas inspires.
In our Hertfordshire communities – St Albans and Delrow – the festival was marked with a shared meal and time for reflection. On Monday 29th September, people gathered in the café for a Michaelmas dinner and to admire a beautiful harvest display, both lovingly prepared by the workshops. Everyone enjoyed free soup, fresh bread rolls and cakes, made with produce from the Delrow gardens. In the afternoon, the celebrations continued with a cup of tea in textiles, where people came together to share seasonal treats, talk about the meaning of Michaelmas, and spend time together.
Our Stourbridge community gathered at Ashfield Gardens, where the afternoon’s celebrations included a Harvest Festival made up of foods grown on site. Friends and families pressed apples from the orchards, baked together, and shared homemade dishes at a bring-and-share feast. With soups, rolls, salads and puddings, it was truly a community table, full of abundance and friendship.
In Gloucestershire, people from Grange Village and Oaklands Park joined for a Michaelmas festival carefully planned by Douglas, John and Vicky. The Social Garden Team prepared a beautiful harvest display, while the food preparation team in the Crow’s Nest Kitchen, our on-site café, baked dragon breads for the tables, enjoyed alongside a shared community meal. Creative workshops saw people making autumn wreaths from crab apples and wild berries, later hung in trees for the birds. The celebration was rounded off with the reading of a Michaelmas verse, a reminder of the deeper meaning of the season. Douglas summed it up perfectly: “It was very good, top marks! Festivals help bring the community together.”
Michaelmas and Our Ethos
At Camphill Village Trust, festivals like Michaelmas reflect our ethos of living with the seasons, celebrating nature, and valuing community. As the harvest ends and the days shorten, Michaelmas is a moment of courage, gratitude, and coming together – themes that resonate deeply within our charity.
Our Nature-based Therapies and Skills Programmes are rooted in these same values. The bread baked, apples pressed, and arts created at Michaelmas are more than festive activities – they are also part of our therapeutic programmes, helping people gain skills, build confidence, and connect with the natural world.
Through these celebrations, we see how life in our communities is filled with opportunity, inclusion, and joy. Whether through food, craft, or simply gathering together, Michaelmas gave us a chance to celebrate not only the harvest, but also the strength and warmth of community life across the Trust.
