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'OFF THE WALL' PROJECT
Gardener and nurseryman Chris founded The Butterfly Garden charity to help anyone with disabilities, behavioral problems or learning difficulties, no matter what age. About 150 people, from teenagers to a 58 year-old, take advantage of The Butterfly Garden project – www.thebutterflygarden.org – every week, spending time on the flower beds, vegetable plots, in the Polythene tunnel, working around the large pond or caring for its chickens and ducks. Above, a group of youngsters are pictured working The 4.5 acre site in Bamfurlong Lane is close to Chris’s own nursery business. Spurred on by demand, planning permission has now been achieved for its new classroom, kitchen and toilet block and fundraising has started in earnest with hopes that the latest project will create more interest and contribute to its £150,000 target. Chris, 56, who deliberately started the charity, in 2002, as a low key affair, says he has been overwhelmed at the demand for its services and the support from local businesses and residents. The latest planned fundraiser in Beechwood is to take over the main shop window at Debenhams on June 4 and will create a rolling piece of theatre for a day. With the help of volunteers, who include his daughter Lauren, a theatre technician, Chris has set up The Window of Opportunity Theatre. Chris says there will be no rules about the shape or length of performances and the richer the mix the better. Working inside and outside the shop window is possible, with, for example someone reading a story outside the window and performers on the inside acting the story on the inside without hearing what’s being said. “There will be so much more, some serious, but mostly humourous and we hope shoppers will enjoy it,” he said. “Nothing will be rehearsed so it will all be unpredictable. We hope to raise funds and help move our classroom project forward but if nothing else we hope it will be great fun for those taking part and for those watching,” said Chris. A charity table with programme and support information about the project and the participants will also be in the centre. “It could just be a one off event but if it proves popular it could continue and the idea offered to other venues. We’re grateful to Debenhams and Beechwood for giving us the opportunity to stage the show and the final touches are being put in place,” he said. |
An ‘off the wall’ project to increase awareness, raise cash and make it a fun day for all is how charity founder Chris Evans describes his ‘Window of Opportunity Theatre’ planned in Debenhams in