Swindon Hub is inviting the local community to kick off the festive season in style with its Christmas Fair. It promises a joyful celebration filled with music, creativity, and Christmas cheer!
Saturday, 15th November | 11am – 4pm | 36 The Parade, SN1 1BA | Free Entry
The Christmas Market will be open all day. It’ll feature 29 unique stalls packed with handmade gifts, local art, festive treats, and sustainable goodies. All perfect for ticking items off your Christmas list while supporting local makers and small businesses. Plus a special festive guest appearance for the children and FREE facepainting too.
Free creative workshops
Visitors can also take part in free creative workshops throughout the day, including:
Stitch Social Banners – Festive Banner Making (1pm – 3pm
And no Christmas celebration would be complete without music! And to that end festive tunes will fill The Hub from live performers all afternoon.
2pm – 12.45pm: Christmas Carols with Carmel Church Swindon
1pm – 2pm: Old Town Strummers Ukulele Group
2pm – 3pm: Chloe Marie
3pm – 4pm: Joseph Patrick Brown
Event organiser and Hub volunteer, Pearl Barcoe says ”With a wonderful mix of shopping, crafting, and carolling, the Hub Christmas Fair promises a great day out for all right in the heart of our town centre. Everyone is welcome — and it’s completely free to attend! All donations received on the day will go directly to the Hub to support the work we do.’
So come along, meet the community, and make this festive season a little brighter at Swindon Hub, the heart of Swindon’s community spirit.
Holiday Club Thanks Sponsor. Swindon-based sports holiday club celebrates a bustling summer of activity. All thanks to the generous donation of a Wiltshire business.
Sean Harper co-founded Just For Fun Holiday Club in 2018. The sports provider creates a safe space for young people of Swindon to access activities and free meal throughout the summer. He supports the Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF) from Swindon Borough Council. The club is well-known for delivering exciting and engaging activities for children during school breaks.
They’re a sports activity provider and Sean, alongside his passionate team, carried out their most successful summer programme in 2025. All since their inception over 7 years ago.
After seeing the important work JFF carries out, John Tuner from Online Recruitment, reached out to them to sponsor their vital community and youth work.
At Outline Recruitment we’re committed to supporting local businesses,’ said John. ‘I’ve known about Just for Fun for several years through my good friend Sean. I’m impressed by his desire to have a positive impact on young people’s futures. And to instill values we too believe in. When Sean first told me about the sponsorship programme, I felt it was a great opportunity to not only support a friend but give back to the community.’
Holiday Club Thanks Sponsor – Sean Harper, co-founder of Just For Fun Holiday Clubs, and John Turner of Online Recruitment. John Turner sponsored Just For Fun’s work through their Summer 2025 programme.
HAF
Sean has overseen their HAF programme for many years. He’s credited John’s sponsorship as one of the core reason’s this year has been their most successful yet.
We work hard to make sure young people get support throughout the summer. John has helped support us this summer with his generosity,’ said Sean. ‘Further, he wasn’t a distant donator. He came along to engage with the children and experience what a morning at JFF is like. He asked lots of questions of the children, who were very chatting and talking to him.’
‘John is keen to give back to the local community. He took time to speak with staff and appreciated the impact what we can have on young people and their aspirations. It means a great deal to an engaged sponsor who understands (and saw!) how important programmes like ours are.’
John spoke with fondness about his experience sponsoring the work JFF holiday club does for the young people of Swindon and Wiltshire.
I’m so proud we had the opportunity to provide some small financial support to such a great organisation. And I, as well as the rest of the team at Outline Recruitment, look forward to supporting them again in the summer of 2026!’ commented John.
Venues
JFF Holiday Club currently runs at five venues in Swindon:
This half term, the team behind the acclaimed Festival of Tomorrow has launched their Swindon Imaginarium. It’s a brand-new free ‘pop-up’ space in the Brunel Centre in Swindon.
Swindon Imaginarium invites families, children, and curious minds of all ages to step inside a space where science and the arts collide. This unique initiative promises hands-on activities and free workshops. All designed to spark creativity, curiosity, and conversation around the ideas and innovations shaping our future.
Swindon Imaginarium invites families, children, and curious minds of all ages to step inside a space where science and the arts collide. This unique initiative promises hands-on activities and free workshops. All designed to spark creativity, curiosity, and conversation around the ideas and innovations shaping our future.
Participants at the Swindon Imaginarium.
Building on the success of the festival of tomorrow
The enthusiasm for the festival of tomorrow, earlier this year, blew us away’ said organiser, Louise Halliday.
Families told us how much they valued opportunities to get hands-on with science and creativity. And the chance to chat with role models from the worlds of research and arts. We wanted to create something to help keep that sense of playful curiosity going throughout the year. Swindon Imaginarium will be a relaxed, welcoming place for everyone to explore, create and play.’
The project is possible thanks to:
Funding from UK Research and Innovation
A grant from Sustainable Futures Programme, funded by the Community Benefit Fund created through the Science Museum Group Wroughton Solar Park. And managed by Wiltshire and Swindon Community Foundation. With the help of Swindon and Wiltshire Institute of Technology.
Families can expect to find different activities and workshops taking place every day throughout the half-term. All facilitated by local artists, science communicators and friendly researchers from institutions such as Diamond Light Source, Southampton Clinical Unit, the University of Bath and the University of Oxford.
Visitors can look forward to activities such as:
making music with chemistry
exploring the science of how autumn leaves change colour
learning about prehistoric times while making their own ‘fossil’,
sculpting nature-inspired wall hangings or trying out brain-boggling giant drawing machines.
Swindon Imaginarium will be open daily between 10am to 4pm until Saturday 1 November. It has an inspiring programme of free activities suitable for all ages. From interactive workshops to creative challenges and cosy crafts there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Entry is completely free.
For updates, visit the Festival of Tomorrow website www.festivaloftomorrow.com. Or follow Festival of Tomorrow on social media.
10th Birthday Bash Raises Cash for local charity, Best Mates. Calne-based Black Nova Designs, dedicated their birthday celebration to fundraise for mental health charity, Best Mates.
Birthday Bash Raises Cash. Jamie McAnsch, keynote speaker at their 10th birthday business partner, Danielle Holmes and Kyle Holmes, co-founders of Black Nova Designs, with Jeff Tucker of Best Mates.
About Best Mates
Best Mates is a mental health and community charity. It supports people when they’re in a crisis. It does so through practical support and by providing a ‘mate’ for them to talk to – in confidence.
Jeff Tucker, co-founder of Best Mates, spoke about Black Nova Design’s using their birthday celebration to raise funds for Best Mates.
Kyle and Danielle have been amazing since I met them 18 months ago. They’ve supported Best Mates and have helped us at our events. Further, they’ve raised money at various trade shows through their VR simulations and then dedicated their 10th birthday party to us. This has been incredible and they have become our ‘best mates’ during that time.’
Personal experience
Black Nova Designs’ founder, Kyle Holmes, recently opened up about his own mental health in a recent interview with Jeff. In it he discussed how much the work Best Mates does. How it saved lives and why he wanted to support Best Mates at their 10th Birthday Bash.
‘Standing in a room filled with friends, clients, and supporters who’ve been part of our journey over the past decade was nothing short of overwhelming. I felt immense pride—for what we’ve built at Black Nova Designs, and in the community, that’s grown around it. Seeing so many people come together to celebrate and raise money for Best Mates was so emotional.’ said Kyle.
The evening was a celebration of Black Nova Design’s ten years in business. There was a raffle, fabulous dinner, and a motivational speech from Jamie McAnsh. Jamie has CRPS (Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome) and has dedicated his life to helping others overcome obstacles to achieve their goals in life or business.
Guests loved being able to celebrate and fundraise for Best Mates. The musical ambiance and quirky photobooth comprised major highlights for attendees. The DJ and photobooth came courtesy of Ilker at Everyone’s Kind of Music. They donated their services to support Black Nova Designs in their fundraising efforts.
Gratitude
‘I’m full of profound gratitude to everyone who showed up, supported us, and helped make the night unforgettable. It reminded me that success isn’t measured in business milestones alone. But alsoin the relationships and impact we create along the way.’ continued Kyle.
Black Nova Designs is an IT support, website design and hosting company founded in 2015. They’re based in Wiltshire with clients nationwide and overseas. To find out more information visit: https://blacknovadesigns.co.uk/
Artisan bakery Pipp & Co has scooped the Best Doughnut category in PETA’s 2025 Vegan Food Awards. A mere few months after launching its vegan range. The bakery’s rhubarb and ginger jam doughnut was the stand out winner at this year’s annual awards, run by PETA. That’s the UK-based charity dedicated to establishing and protecting the rights of all animals.
The award celebrates outstanding plant-based innovation and craftsmanship across the UK. It recognises products that make it easier than ever for people to enjoy delicious food, free from animal ingredients.
Handcrafted from scratch in Pipp & Co’s Swindon bakery, the award-winning doughnut features the brand’s signature slow-proved brioche dough. All made using only natural, preservative-free ingredients, locally sourced where possible – and filled with its own rhubarb and ginger jam. The resulting doughnut is a vibrant balance of sweet and tangy flavours, finished with a perfectly light, golden crust.
‘We’re so proud of this recognition from PETA,” said Mario Evangelista, co-owner of Pipp & Co, which he runs with his wife, Betina Evangelista. ‘Our rhubarb and ginger jam doughnut has been a customer favourite since day one. And it’s wonderful to see our vegan range celebrated in this way. We’ve always believed that plant-based baking should feel truly satisfying and full of flavour. And this award proves it can be both.’
Artisan Bakery Wins ‘Best Doughnut’ – Mario and Betina Evangelista at the new Pipp & Co cafe in BristolRhubarb and Ginger Jam Vegan Doughnut
All made fresh
Pipp & Co’s doughnuts are made fresh daily. All with locally sourced organic A2 milk and cream alternatives. And British flour, and free-range eggs or vegan ingredients depending on the flavour. Each batch undergoes a 48-hour process to achieve their signature pillowy texture.
The bakery launched its vegan range in the spring. And it now regularly bakes five different flavoured vegan doughnuts, as well as a vegan walnut and banana loaf.
This accolade highlights Pipp & Co’s dedication to sustainable, handcrafted baking. And to its commitment to creating exceptional vegan options alongside its classic range.
Dawn Carr, PETA’s vice president of vegan corporate projects, commented: ‘As beautiful as it is delicious, Pipp & Co’s rhubarb and ginger jam doughnut stood out with its fluffy bite and generous filling of sweet jam with a hint of spice. Combined it all made it a clear winner in PETA’s Vegan Food Awards. We’re excited to see what vegan delights Pipp & Co dreams up next.’
