Last weekend saw the first ever Fun Palaces take place at 138 venues across the UK. Here in Deptford, we hosted Cirque Bijou‘s performance of Source, an outdoor circus show that wowed audiences, as well as a food fight, live music, and a party for the whole community. The weekend of Fun Palaces in 2014 was the start of something big, as the plan is to run the same campaign in 2015, 2016 and beyond. This is not just an event, it is a movement, putting cultural participation and public engagement at the heart, simultaneously and nationally, together – across the UK and beyond. The weekend was documented on social media and many people uploaded their pictures, here’s a collection of some of our favourites from #FunPalaces and a poem from poet Simon Mole about the weekend.
Welcome to The Fun Palace
(down here in the deep blue sea)
That reggae bounce, that off-beat skank
That love, those balloons…
Two five year old feet on a surfboard
Fun tastes sweet and melts on your tongue
Take a sail and a fresh breeze,
add two spoonfuls of suffering,
Divide by experience, times by perspective
Add a sense of humour and fun’s what you’re left with
Family, friends, food.
A banana wearing a dress.
Or a penguin, hitching a lift on a camel’s back
A mission to explore summer
With just a bottle of water
and a jar full of yellow happiness
Bright silver and red lights spell out the word
F-U-N on the side of the shard
We kick back, laugh, watch clouds and relax
Two party hats joined together,
seven thousand kazoos
You don’t have to be clever to realise what fun is…
Simon Mole
We hope that you had as much fun as we did, and if you missed out, don’t worry because we will see you next year.
Rachel McCall, Marketing, The Albany
The Albany, Deptford 