Diamond Jubilee Festival, Battersea Park - The official Diamond Jubilee Party – 3rd June
On Sunday June 3rd 2012 the Queen celebrates her 60 year reign with one of the largest events ever held in London, the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant. This unique spectacle, inspired by a rich history and tradition of entertainment and theatre on the Thames, is expected to include 20,000 participants on the water, millions of spectators on the river banks and a global audience expected by the major broadcasters to many hundreds of millions. The flotilla, with the Queen at its helm, will be 7 miles long, pass under 14 bridges and take 90 minutes to pass any given point.
A festival “fit for a queen” celebrating design, music, art, film, fashion and food from the past 60 years will play a key role in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant and provide an ideal vantage point to watch the flotilla.
From a portrait of The Queen made out of 3,120 cakes, to public ‘knightings’, and a knees-up featuring Pearly Kings and Queens at The Diamond Geezer Pop Up Pub, The Diamond Jubilee Festival, Battersea Park, will mark The Queen’s reign in a wonderfully eccentric, inimitable style.
Curated by Hemingway Design (Vintage Festival) and Clare Patey (Feast on the Bridge), the festival will provide a truly creative day for the whole family to get involved in.
“We’ll be creating a completely immersive environment – a timelines through the 60 years of our Queen’s reign. This will be a proper knees up with dancing and plenty of activities – it’s a chance for people to put their glad rags on and polish their dancing shoes.”
- Wayne Hemingway, MBE
Festival-goers will get the chance to play traditional British games with a Jubilee twist, listen to historic fairy-tales, feast on cake made by London's hip new wave of Women’s Institute members and create their very own souvenirs of the day.
They can also enjoy a ride on the vintage steam fair, shop in the Right Royal Department Store, watch films in the open air cinema and learn to dance 1952 style.
“The Diamond Jubilee Festival will be a celebration fit for a queen and a party which will remain in the collective public memory for many years to come. Artists, designers, film-makers, chefs and bakers have all been brought together to create a distinctive celebration for all.”
- Artist and co-curator Clare Patey
The Diamond Jubilee Festival at Battersea Park is the official public party, a celebratory event that will be the curtain-raiser for a great British summer, including the London Olympics.
The park will be divided into zones to include:
· Pageant Viewing + Thames bars - watch the Pageant and toast The Queen and 1,000 magnificent vessels from here.
· A Coronation bandstand tea dance with live big bands swing, jive and lindyhop open dance classes, 1952-themed bars and the food flavours of the Coronation Year.
· Crowning Glory - The Main Stage. Six concerts for six decades of The Queen’s reign.
· A Tea Garden, staffed by the Women’s Institute and featuring “Cake in the Clouds”, an attempt to build the world’s tallest cake, Jubilee jam-making with strawberries grown across the capital, and, courtesy of Konditor and Cook, a portrait of the Queen made of 3,120 cakes, one for each week of her reign.
· The Salons Hair & Beauty Makeovers - choose from any decade as long as it’s the last six.
· Anita's Vintage Fashion Fair presents a Right Royal Department Stall with 12 hand picked vintage clothing and accessory dealers
· Etsy Marketplace presents a veritable cornucopia of royal collectibles and handmade memorabilia.
· The Style Spotter's Best Dressed Catwalk.
· Public Toasting - a mobile toasting trolley complete with regal hats and drinks giving people the chance to publically toast whoever or whatever deserves it!
· Mass Kazoo play along - God Save The Queen played by 1,000 plus festival goers and led by a marching kazoo band, followed by a mass toast to The Queen.
· Souvenir Making - crown making, knitting, customised headscarves, medals – a chance to make and wear a souvenir, complete with knitted crown jewels.
· Library and Storytelling zone with royal fairytales, myths, contemporary stories and historic tales.
· Home Live Art's Alternative Village Fete, an unusual take on the traditional family day out.
· The Village Green, showcasing British folk traditions at their finest.
· The Royalty Picture House -an outdoor cinema, showing Pathé footage from the Coronation and other significant televised royal events
· A mini-museum and public memory bank exhibiting royal memorabilia collected by the public through the decades, curated by Josh Knowles. This will be a month long exhibition at Battersea Park’s Pump House Gallery.
· Classic Car Boot vintage royal memorabilia and more all sold from classic cars from the last 60 years
· Interactive photo-booths featuring; My Coronation, Family Portraits and Public Knightings.
· The Diamond Geezer pop up pub, with Pearly Kings and Queens, sing-a-longs and traditional pub games.
· The Great British Seaside Craft Workshops with The Seaside Sisters and a fancy dress flotilla on the boating lake.
· Carter’s Steam Fair, a collection of nostalgic fairground rides, carousels, swing boats, chair'o' planes and dodgems.
· A themed festival market with food and drink celebrating all things British as well as food and drink from across the Commonwealth.
· Corgi Corner fun and games for your faithful friend – don't leave him at home!
· A Right Royal Art School - your chance to paint a portrait of The Queen
· The Good Times Bus-have a boogie with Norman Jay MBE
A short video of Wayne & Clare talking about the festival can be found below on YouTube -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_HqCVuYc14
ANITA’S VINTAGE FASHION FAIRS
… Presents A Right Royal Department Store
The Diamond Jubilee Festival vintage clothing and accessories marketplace.
12 hand picked stalls selling:
- Accessories fit for a queen: headscarves, handbags & gloves
- Military uniforms
- Vintage clothing by designers associated with the Royals eg. Horrockses, Catherine Walker (Diana), Norman Hartnell (the Queen's designer in the 50s & creator of her wedding dress and coronation dress), Hardy Amies (the Queen's designer in the 60s), Ian Thomas (the Queen 70s), mink coats by Calman Links (worn by the queen in the 50s/60s) Vintage hats / millinery department (inspired by Ascot)
- ‘Vintage Fashion Royalty' - Designers/looks from each of the decades of the Queen's reign e.g. The 60s would feat. Mary Quant etc.
- Vintage costume jewellery and souvenirs
- Silver jubilee dept - 1977 punk section
- 80s day dresses - Diana style!
- A vintage wedding department (inspired by our love for a royal wedding)
