The streets the length of Lewes will be packed with well-wishers for the 24th year, cheering on the children and enjoying the carnival art created by the children.
The 2025 theme is “A Night In The Museum” with costumes inspired by artefacts in the Lewes Castle Museum, chosen to reflect the big moments in the lives of local residents throughout history, and bring the children’s heritage to life in Moving On.
Patina has worked with the Sussex Archaeological Society to choose the artefacts from their Lewes Castle Museum collection to inspire the parade. In May historian and professional storyteller Jon
Mason. toured all 14 schools participating in Moving On with Patina to present the theme and tell the children all about the artefacts chosen to inspire the parade. The children discovered what their artefact was and worked with Patina’s team of professional artists Mary Fellows, Sally Edwards, Leigh Hodgkinson, Sara Harris, Sandrine Case, Kathryn Jordan, Shan Isherwood and Paul Render to design their costumes. Lewes District has been a hive of activity ever since as the children prepare their fabulous creations for the parade.
Patina had always wanted to walk a dinosaur through Lewes in the Moving On Parade and this year is the year, as it is 200 years since the discovery of the iguanodon by Lewes residents was reported
by Gideon Mantell to the Royal Society in London, only the second dinosaur ever to be found. In fact, there is much evidence that Gideon’s wife and professional natural history illustrator Mary Mantell
actually found the fossil. To celebrate this amazing discovery, there will be not one but two life sized iguanodon puppets in the parade and Patina are calling them Mary and Gideon, to help put the record straight.
Each school will be carrying an iguanodon egg and hatchling in the parade. Made in an art workshop with artist Katie Griffiths, each school will present their egg to a central iguanodon nest art installation in the Paddock after the parade, under the watchful eye of our two life-sized dinos Mary and Gideon.
Lewes Castle Museum even gave Patina a 120 million year old iguanodon femur fossil to take into the schools. The children were delighted to be able to hold such an incredibly old and precious
object.
Because this year is all about treasures in our local museum and what is treasured by our children and our community, Patina have produced beautiful oversized postcards and asked all the children to write and draw what they treasure at this time in their lives. Their responses give an insight into what matters to the young people as they participate in this unique rite of passage. The postcards will be on display in the Paddock in Lewes on Moving On day.
A 60 person samba band made up of primary and Priory school pupils will play in the Paddock, followed by a mass dance to Moving On choreography created by local dance
teacher Gemma Coe.
To round off the day, Patina will be holding its free Twilight Tales storytelling event in the Paddock with professional storytellers, Moving On artwork on display and even a free Sussex Living Coast Undersea VR experience, to enjoy a summer evening together as the sun goes down on Moving On day.
Director Caroline Croft said, “It is so exciting to see how the children have taken their local history and turned it into an extraordinary pageant of creativity and celebration. So many people are involved in this and we can’t thank everyone enough for all their support and kindness in helping us make Moving On such a special experience for the children and their families.”
Moving On is the flagship of Patina, an independent arts charity for young people led by Caroline Croft, Katy Hay, Amy Martin and Gemma Collins.