Walthamstow is a haven of creative and talented people. If you would like to join in this activity then there are two local community groups currently looking for singers to join in their activities:

Chapel End Savoy Players have been performing the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas in the Walthamstow area for 35 years. Their next production is Iolanthe, which they're performing this May at the Deaton Theatre, Forest School, Snaresbrook. The Group is currently trying to recruit new singers for this production. They rehearse on Tuesday nights at St. John's Church, on the corner of Chingford Road and Brookscroft Road, Walthamstow, E17 5AL. All voices and levels of expertise are welcome, with membership subject to a short audition. If you would like to know more please contact Jackie on 0785 2928287 or email Ian.

As we head towards this year's E17 Art Trail in September, there are many local groups and artists working on exhibitions. The E17 Art Trail launched in 2004 as a one day event. The annual event now covers nine days with over 150 exhibitions and events already listed for September 2009.  Image17, a group of photographers based in Walthamstow, London have set out to document the huge variety of local leisure and social groups within the Borough and have been awarded a grant from Arts Council England for an exhibition. The photographers would like to hear from local residents about the groups they belong to, and to involve them in this exhibition. Therefore, if you're part of a group within the borough and are interested in being photographed, please email Katherine Green, info@katherinegreen.co.uk.

Now in its fourth year, I'm proud to be a sponsor of the E17 Art Trail, a firmly established event on the cultural calendar for Waltham Forest. This year there are 138 listings in 86 separate venues, representing an estimated 300 artists in total! The launch for the Art Trail will take place on Friday 5 September at the Vestry House Museum 6-9pm and continue afterwards at Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre Pub on Hoe Street.

The E17 Art Trail website is excellent and provides full details of all the different exhibitions. You may also have seen around Walthamstow the maps for the trail which show activities range from small showcases in people's houses, such as one taking place on Sunday 7 September of the work of local artist Alke Schmidt at 7 Aubrey Road between 12 - 6pm, or major exhibitions featuring a range of artists like the one at Inky Cuttlefish Studios which will showcase works by many local artists and will move on to Berlin and Durban, South Africa. You could have a go at being creative yourself at the craft workshops at the Hornbeam Centre on Hoe Street throughout the Art Trail for residents of all ages. Registration for workshops is appreciated, so to let them know you're coming or to find out more contact: 020 8558 6880, info@organiclea.org.uk.

Or if you would like to support our local artists when you're in central London, David Sullivan  is exhibiting in the The Threadneedle Prize exhibition at the Mall Galleries. The exhibition finishes on the 6 September. David will also be part in the e17 Art Trail, exhibiting at North Tutorial, a show of Royal College of Art painters which will be taking place at a brand new space for contemporary art in Walthamstow at The Red Room, on Richards Place which is behind the Rose and Crown.

Several readers have contacted me recently regarding plans for Walthamstow to join in the 2012 Live Sites project for the Olympic Games. This could involve the provision of a permanent 25sq metre screen in Walthamstow town centre. It will broadcast for sixteen hours a day and show a mix of national sporting and cultural events as well as local films and cultural endeavours too. The plan is for this screen to be in place by this August so that it can broadcast the Beijing Olympic games, with its contents being supported and managed by the BBC as well as Waltham Forest Council. These proposals are at an early stage and there are plans for a consultation on the scheme in the near future so if you would like to register interest in this scheme or learn more about how to participate in the planning process please get in touch.

Walthamstow is a hub of artistic people and not least among our younger generations. Recently, the children of Stoneydown Park Primary School have painted four North London Line railway bridges in High Street ward with huge murals. Artist Linda Hughes worked with children ranging in age from nursery to year 6 on the design and painting with themes including William Morris (Pretoria Ave), Favourite Toys and Beach Scene (Stoneydown Ave), Under The Ocean and Jungle Animals (Ritchings Ave) and Islamic Tile Art (Suffolk Park Road). Money was generously donated by the Community Safety Tactical Joint Action Group to fund the materials, and the Young Offenders Payback team did the heavy work of preparing the surfaces beforehand and applying the anti-graffiti coating afterwards.Local photographer Chi Chan documented the before and after situation and you can see the pictures at Walthamstow' Central Library from 7-21 January 2008. This week I will be visiting this and I hope you can find the time to do so too.

Stoneydown Park Primary School Parent Teacher's Association also has a website detailing their great work in our local community. You can access it here.