A project looking into the history of Witney's world-famous blanket industry has caught the imaginations of hundreds of people.
The Journey of a Blanket is now linking Witney in a cultural exchange with Canada.
Blankets from the town were historically traded with native Canadians during the fur trade era and the story is being revived in a project masterminded by Children's International Arts Organisation (Ciao!) from its office off Cowley Road in Oxford.
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Links have been set up with Fort William Historical Park in Thunder Bay, Canada, to tell the story of the blanket's role in fur trade society.
And during the summer, Canadian artisans will lead workshops, including beading and moccasin-making, for children and adults alongside local handcraft workshops of spinning and rag rug-making at Cogges Farm Museum and other West Oxfordshire locations over the weekend of June 7-8.
Students from Wood Green School in Witney are devising a play entitled The Journey of a Blanket to be performed in July.
There will also be an exhibition by children from Witney's Batt and Blake Schools on the history of Witney's wool trade.
The schools' work will then travel to Canada to be exhibited with work created by primary school children in Thunder Bay illustrating 19th century life in Native Ojibwa communities.
Ciao!'s artistic director Karen Draisey said: "This unique project has captured the imaginations of many people."
The project has this week been backed with a £39,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
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