THE VILLAGE of Elsecar was transformed into yellows and blues as part of Tour de Yorkshire celebrations, spearheaded by Proud of Barnsley nominee Gemma Nemer.
Gemma, 35, who runs textile company The Button Tin, encouraged residents to get involved in the decorating and hosted workshops and classes so that even novices could try their hand.
Gemma said: “It as a very different task. I worked on it every day for two months with a team of hundreds of volunteers.
“We worked with primary schools, community hubs, community partnerships, local residents, so there were all ages.
“We created traditional bunting and traditional Yorkshire sayings on banners, we worked with Friends of Elsecar Park to dress the trees, which is called yarn bombing. We wrapped them in bright coloured fabrics and had pompoms dangling out of the trees. It was almost like a festival, the whole village came alive.
“I was commissioned by Great Place Wentworth and Elsecar, there’s lots of history in the village and they wanted to work with an artist to achieve a spectacle.
“It was amazing, it was hard work and there was lots of canvassing, knocking on doors and meetings but it as beautiful to form friendships in the community.
“Now we’ve got something going in the village where we’ve become friends and we’re carrying on with it we’re working on all sorts of exciting projects.
“It’s brought people out, people who were suffering from loneliness, one woman had lost her husband and said she had never seen anything like this in Elsecar.
“I’ve loved that element of it.”
The decorating brought in lots of tourism both on the day and throughout the following weeks. Elsecar was also named as runner up in the best dressed village competition.
Julie Kent, also from Elsecar, nominated Gemma for her hard work leading up to the cycling event.
She said: “Gemma put her heart and soul into making Elsecar beautiful for the Tour de Yorkshire. She never stopped sewing and making decorations for months.
“She managed to get lots of people from the village involved.
“The day was absolutely amazing, our little road was packed with people. It got the community together.
“We sat outside all day and it was a day we will never forget.”
