The following press release is from Cultivating Community, the new enterprise behind the café at the park as it gets ready to reopen:
A new community café is set to open its doors in Frome this Spring and residents are excited to see what it has to offer. The café, located in Victoria Park, aims to provide a food and drink offering that is available for the early morning dog walkers through to the afternoon tea lovers.
The café will offer a variety of simple nutritious food, drinks and delicious cakes, sourced from local suppliers. But the café’s mission goes beyond just serving a lovely warm drink or nibble of food /cake. As a non-profit organisation it has a strong vision for building an inclusive and equitable community, where a variety of offerings are available for everyone. As an outdoor park café, the surrounding nature is part of the vision that will be incorporated into some of the community programs we want to offer.
In addition to providing a welcoming space for community members to gather, the café also plans to host and collaborate with other community organisations to provide events and educational opportunities. The café is looking to connect with local community organisations that want to run activities from the café, whether that is a Frome social “lets meet up at Victoria Park Café,” Parents and Children’s groups, A Chat Table, or Fitness Socials, we are open to all ideas and would welcome your input.
“We believe that the simple act of sharing a warm drink, nibble of something nice and a chat can help to break down barriers whilst bringing people from diverse ages and interests together” said Caroline, one of the café’s Board of Directors who has met so many interestingly diverse people through her dog walks and use of the park. “Our goal is to embrace the lovely community spirit that Frome currently offers utilising Victoria Park Café as a new meet up location.”
The café is hoping to open mid to end of March, but we would like to invite you to come and find out more about the café and input into its mission. We are holding an open house event on 25th of February from 10am-12pm. Please do come and speak to us if you are interested in volunteering in the café, have the skills to help with renovating the space or are just interested in talking through some of our ideas. We want all ages and interests to be considered so please do come along so we can hear what you want from your local Victoria Park Café.
Mayor Cllr Sara Butler says: ”The café in the park is an institution – and we look forward to this next exciting chapter. It’s a community café, so ultimately that means that it is up to us all to put our effort in and get out of it what we want – so come and get involved and give them the support that they deserve!”
“We can’t wait to get this project off the ground especially as it means I can have a lovely cup of coffee whilst walking my dogs in the morning,” said Caroline.
For more information, please visit the cafe’s website and to help us deliver and support your needs please fill out our survey
