Cooking and dining together as a community in Wymondham will now be possible thanks to That Little Norfolk Shop and Studio being awarded grant funding from the Alan Boswell Group Charitable Trust and South Norfolk and Broadland District Council.
In addition to a range of events, activities and cooking opportunities, the venue is set to open a new ice cream and gelato bar on Thursday 3rd October with produce from Norfolk’s long-established supplier, Parravani’s Ice Cream and a Punch and Judy show.
Based in the former Abbey Schoolrooms in Wymondham, and run by ClearCompany CIC volunteers, That Little Norfolk Shop and Studio has hosted thriving monthly open mic sessions, wellbeing events, comedy nights, murder mystery events and cocktail-making nights. Several groups have established themselves in the upper floor Studio space, including a Silent Reading Group, Wymondham Young Voices, and ILoveUke sessions for adults and children.
With £8791 funding from the Alan Boswell group to install a new commercial kitchen, the venue is now ready to offer cookery workshops where participants can cook and dine together. The social enterprise team will also offer a Youth Café takeover, with young people who attend the youth drop-in on Friday afternoons supported by professional caterers to run their own snack bar.
Julie Briggs, founder Director of ClearCompany CIC, said: “We have been eager to host cookery and dining events in our new Studio venue, where people can get to know each other while they cook and dine together. We are delighted that we can now welcome families and members of the community into the Studio to learn tips from cookery experts and dine together. We’re super excited about the Youth Café take-over too!”
ClearCompany will be launching its new ice cream and gelato bar with a fun Punch and Judy Show by Mr Sam the Magic Man on Thursday 3rd October at 4pm-5pm. A range of cakes, including hot fudge cake, will be available.
The October schedule at the Studio includes the following events:
-The Kids IloveUke group on Saturdays
-Friday Youth Café with puppet making and film production workshop
-Silent Book Group
-Wymondham Young Voices on Wednesdays
-The Sound Café
-Insert Laughter Here comedy night
-Quiz Night
-Cocktail-Making Night
-Fun Bingo
-Film Club
To date, the social enterprise team has put ten months of work into preparing the former Abbey Schoolroom building, with grant funding from the South Norfolk District Council Pride In Place fund, and donated materials and labour from businesses including Quickstep, B&Q, Dulux, and local designer and decorator Andrew Crichton of Design and Decorate. The upper studio floor offers views of Wymondham Abbey and is equipped for live music, dining, workshops, and relaxing wellbeing projects, while the lower floor is being adapted to be a shop selling Norfolk produce.
The new venue is the latest phase in ClearCompany’s development, seeing the social enterprise grow from pop-up events during the Covid pandemic, to putting down roots in Wymondham with a community venue that harnesses its network of creatives and entrepreneurs.
For further details of events, activities, and private hire, visit www.clearcompany.org.uk/tlns.