Community Outreach Projects 2025

At Vogrie Pogrie, community is at the heart of everything we do. This year we’re bringing together local groups, artists, and organisations to create projects that celebrate creativity, wellbeing, and collective action. Here’s what you can expect:

The Word Block Workshops & Poet-tree

In collaboration with Shondra Bowie Riley and One Dalkeith... we’re running a series of community outreach workshops where participants create word blocks and poems. These will form the Poet-tree, an interactive poetry installation at the festival. A special mention to Dalkeith Men’s Shed, a key partner of the project who built word blocks and the Poet-Tree structure.

We’re collaborating with:

  • Seeds of Disruption SCIO (youth-led)

  • Dalkeith Men’s Shed (community-led men’s mental health)

  • Dalkeith Arts (community arts organisation)

  • VOCAL (carers’ organisation)

  • Livity Youth

  • Garvald (learning disabilities organisation)

  • Plus a few last-minute additions!

POET-TREE TENT events at vogrie pogrie

SUNDAY

10:00 Film Start Folk Horror Film-making Workshop: The Lost Pogries (Part 2)

13:45 Have You Found Your Pogrie Yet? With Dan and Friends

15:00-17:00 The Poet-Tree Open Mic with Shondra Bowie Riley

SATURDAY

10:00 Film Start Folk Horror Film-making Workshop: The Lost Pogries (Part 1)

12:30 The Poet-Tree: Growing Beautiful Community Projects

13:45 Bee Chat with Newbattle Beekeepers

15:00-17:00 The Poet-Tree Open Mic with Shondra Bowie Riley

Seeds of Disruption and Art Club

Art Club is an award winning, youth-led and free creative project based in Woodburn Dalkeith for 8 - 14 year olds. This year young people from Art Club have created their own charity called Seeds of Disruption SCIO. Art Club will now become one of their projects and they are looking to raise funds to continue their work. Seeds of Disruption charitable purposes are to advance community development, citizenship, arts, culture and education. Young people will create their own opportunities locally and continue to collaborate with their allies, partners and friends. When you buy one of their products you are supporting young people in our community to take action, direct their own learning and contribute to making the local community awesome. Seeds of Disruption is free and open to anyone aged 8-25 who lives or goes to school in Midlothian. 

INVOLVEMENT

The Hare, the Snail and the Ragazag feat. Golden Grooves and Seeds of Disruption (Sunday 16:00)

The youth-led Seeds of Disruption have been busy creating a RAGAZAG (a giant puppet snake) that will appear as part of a festival parade performance on Sunday. They’ll also be sharing their work through a video (on Facebook) and hosting a stall across the weekend.

Dalkeith Arts 

Dalkeith Arts is a community arts group promoting, supporting and providing a forum and outlet for artists and crafters in the Dalkeith area. They run workshops and events in the community and bring local creatives together to share knowledge and skills. 

BPOC Writing Workshops

Led by Shondra Bowie Riley and hosted by One Dalkeith, these workshops invite Black people and people of colour to explore writing and poetry. Some participants will share their work at the Open Mic sessions on Saturday and Sunday, while group poems will be displayed around the site.

Woodland Wellbeing Hub

Growing Families will host the Woodland Wellbeing Hub, a welcoming space offering activities and information about local groups that use nature for healing and mental health. Expect gentle campfire conversations and space to breathe among the trees.

Climate Action Space

MCAN (Midlothian Climate Action Network) will host a dedicated climate action space, sharing opportunities to get involved in local initiatives, campaigns, and collaborations.