To celebrate the beginning of its reign as London Borough of Culture, Waltham Forest are hosting a massive three day party to get the celebrations under way. The event is called Welcome to the Forest and the organisers are promising the biggest party that the borough has ever seen.
The three-day-long festival will see a variety of special events from an impressive array of artists. A specially commissioned film by Greenway & Greenaway will see local residents tell the story of Waltham Forest. The film has been set to music by award winning producer Talvin Singh.
Local music duo Addictive TV will debut a new piece of music which the pair have created by sampling some of the borough’s rising stars.
Forest Road will be given a special makeover for the event by Festival curators Continental Drifts. The road will be transformed into a “neon-lit winter carnival” with the help of local store, Gods Own Junkyard.
Nearby Lloyd Park will join the fun by playing host to a huge lighting installation named “Nest”. The lights are the work of the Marshmallow Laser Feast and the installation will feature music by composer Erland Cooper who worked with local schools and choirs on the project.
The event marks the beginning of the new borough of culture initiative. The initiative is the brainchild of the Mayor of London’s office with London City Hall giving £3.5m towards the scheme.
In February 2018, Waltham Forest and Brent were named as the first two winners of the award with each recurved £1.35m of funding.
The website for the Waltham Forest event says: “Our opening show Welcome to the Forest is created in response to the themes of our year celebrating Radicals, Makers and Fellowship. It’s a unique event for all the family designed to celebrate our shared past, present and future in this much loved corner of north east London”.
Welcome to the Forest will take place between the 11th and the 13th of January 2019 at a variety of locations around Waltham Forest.
For further details about the festival, please click here.
For information on other great outdoor events in London, please click here.
