Solihull College & University Centre were a hit at this year’s Solihull Food and Drink Festival. Crowds flocked to Solihull town centre between 29th-1st October. The college was invited to attend by Solihull Business Improvement District (BID), a foundation which looks to create a better and brighter Solihull. Solihull College were present to talk to residents about the courses and facilities the college has to offer. The event featured more than sixty stalls and bars, live music and cocktail masterclasses, as well as a guest appearance from one half of The Hairy Bikers, Dave Myers.
The College’s stand at the event advised on apprenticeship opportunities, offered CV writing advice and activities for children. The College’s Jane Pendleton and an assortment of Event Planning students offered to help out and organise the children’s activities. The college got creative and organised biscuit icing, created children’s colouring booklets and carried out glitter face painting for children. £160 was raised through the activities and was donated to the charity ‘Help Harry, Help Others’, a charity that supports families battling through Cancer.
Solihull College staff were also heavily involved in the event, organising their own activities. The College’s Vicky Chapple organised mindfulness colouring activities for both children and adults to aid relaxation, as well as designing flowers out of paper. For a more futuristic activity Computing Lecturer Adeeb Basharat brought along the college’s state-of-the-art virtual reality headsets to represent the College’s new degree in Virtual Reality. Tutor Terry Moore also wowed and entertained audiences with his fruit carving skills, producing some fantastic creations.
Terry also supported the live demonstration element of the event and was the preliminary act for Dave Myers, who appeared at five sell-out shows at the event. Terry’s fun demonstration, creating ‘cheeky pizzas’ was geared towards aspiring potential chefs in the audience.
Solihull BID expressed their gratitude to Solihull College & University Centre for contributing to the event and helping to make the weekend a success. Nadia Davis, SME Account Manager for Solihull College, said “Our events students worked really hard to organise and manage a variety of activities which attracted lots of interest from the public and raised money for a local charity. We gave lots of information and guidance about apprenticeship opportunities and distributed over 100 goody bags with exciting information about our courses and facilities. A big thanks to Solihull BID for allowing us to be part of such a successful event – here’s to next year!”
For more information on upcoming events with Solihull College & University Centre in the community and at the College, visit www.solihull.ac.uk or call 0121 678 7000.
For more pictures of the Food and Drink Festival, visit the college’s twitter page @SolihullCollege.
