Museum of English Rural Life 'Spectacular' on Saturday 12th June from 10am to 5pm

In Reading the Museum of English Rural Life is having its biggest annual event, the MERL Spectacular takes place on Saturday 12th June from 10am to 5pm.

This year there will be an artistic theme to our biggest family event to tie in with the Looking at Landscape: colours and contours exhibition. Come along and find out how rural England has inspired artists. Join in the family workshops and get creative! Everyone will be able to contribute to a giant landscape weaving project - using plastic bags!

With craft demonstrations and activities, morris dancing, a fairground organ, traction engine, lunches and refreshments, there's something for everyone, so come along and enjoy the great atmosphere in the MERL garden! Admission is free!

You'll be able to come and see work by local artists and families can take part in fun activities, including family drawing workshops run by Korky Paul, award-winning illustrator of the Winnie the Witch children's books. You'll also be able to help create a landscape sculpture based on a design by artist, Julie Roberts.

We are also delighted to welcome Robin Wood, bowl turner and Chair of the Heritage Craft Association, who will be demonstrating his replica of the Lailey lathe which MERL curators chose as one of the objects to represent Berkshire in the BBC's History of the World project. Also on the HCA stand you will be able to meet Sophie Lister Hussain, the glass mentor from the BBC's recent Mastercrafts series and have a go at chair caning.

For details visit the website

Stalls and activities

* Local watercolour artist group
* British Trust for Conservation Volunteers
* MERL's modern & Victorian allotments
* Traction engine
* Oxfam books
* RISC, including drop-in craft activities
* CPRE
* Heritage Crafts Association
* R&J Nickless Beekeepers with observation hive
* Country Markets
* WI
* Reading & District Fuschia Society
* Face painting


The Museum's exhibition gallery is a light, open space teeming with objects and designed to draw out some comparisons between village-based society of a century ago and our globalised, high-tech and perhaps unsustainable world of today.