More than 4,000 Londoners are being invited to join ‘Search Party’, a unique immersive odyssey where people of all ages hunt for clues and take part in a series of quirky tasks on their journey through the streets to find the location of a huge free party with live music, swing dancing, food, drink and surprises.
On March 20th some of London’s best loved pocket parks, squares and high streets will form part of four unique two mile trails leading to a ‘secret’ party. Searchers on the mysterious trails will solve a series of fun riddles and clues to find the secret location, tasks may include joining in dance routines, taking taste tests and even herding sheep! Clues will reveal themselves in surprising ways: perhaps a message in a bottle, or an actor in disguise, with every clue leading people one step closer to the party address.
The free ‘Search Party’ event is organised by Sing London and is one of the many highlights of Find Your London, a brand new festival with over 150 events across the city, launched by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, which runs from 18-28 March.
Find Your London has been developed with five ‘moods’ in mind - Active, Curious, Playful, Relaxed, or Inspired – with a huge variety of free or low cost activities across London from yoga in the park, to cycle trails and treasure hunts, to beekeeping, photography and pizza making, and an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party.
The festival aims to get Londoners out and about exploring more of their city. A number of the events are located across some of the beautiful green spaces and regenerated high streets that the Mayor has invested in including his Pocket Parks, Help a London Park, High Streets and Regeneration Fund programmes.
The festival is organised by the Mayor of London in partnership with 44 organisations ranging from the Design Museum and Woodland Trust to local Orchard and environmental groups.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, said: “My new festival celebrates our city’s great outdoor space from our much loved woods and parks, to our bustling high streets and town centres. There are a smorgasbord of festival events from searching for clues to locate secret parties, launches of new markets to historical tours of our river sides.
“London is without a doubt one of the most fascinating cities on earth and Find your London is the perfect excuse to get out and explore the fantastic things to see and do in our glorious city. “
The Mayor recently launched his cultural tourism vision to promote London's local and lesser known gems and Find Your London builds on this by highlighting old and new public spaces and celebrating our city.
Festival highlights include:
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Search Party: Hidden deep in London’s landscape, a secret party awaits you. There will be fancy food, fine teas, swing dancing and an array of surprises. Londoners will have to solve a series of clues and take part in tasks as they search for the secret location of the party
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Community Beekeeping: Learn about beekeeping, take part in a hive inspection and try some delicious London honey in Kennington Park hives
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Barefoot Bowls – Highbury Fields is going to be turned into a bowling oasis aimed at breathing life, colour and fun back into the quintessentially British game of lawn bowls. Barefoot Bowls combines a fast, simple form of the age old game, with Pop-up bars, exotic street food vendors, live DJs and much more.
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Bowl of Chalk London walking tours. Opportunity to discover or revisit London's fascinating and sometimes offbeat history, with different tours taking in Trafalgar Square, Fleet Street, the City, Brick Lane, Hackney and more. Chance to hear about stories like 'a statue that isn't actually officially on English soil' and the house where the first English dictionary was compiled and figures like Gilbert and George, the Templar Knights, Daniel Defoe and William Blake, Tracy Emin and many others.
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Discover Crossbones. Explore the secret history of one of the Mayor’s 100 Pocket Parks - Crossbones Garden in Southwark; the outcasts' burial ground. Find out about its rediscovery in recent years and the poetic vision that led local people to reclaim this desolate place as a garden of remembrance
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Roman Road Yard Market. Launch party for new weekly Saturday market on Roman Road. There will something for everyone with hot food, street music and market stalls selling unique and handcrafted wares, as well as a series of guided tours, including Hidden Histories and Battling Belles of Bow, an insight into the radical campaigns led by Sylvia Pankhurst and Annie Besant.
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Moated Manor Local Nature Reserve community open day. The first time Tolworth Court Farm Moated Manor Local Nature Reserve has been open to the public, a medieval manor once stood on the site. Now that all remains is a small river and pond that is home to badgers, kestrel, kingfishers and other wildlife.
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The Low Line: Bankside. For fans of the High Line in NYC, a revealing walk revealing along the base of the viaduct connecting London Bridge with Waterloo stations, to find out about the emerging Low Line initiative looking to reinstate the common spaces to create a pedestrian friendly route.
Event Find Your London
Date: Friday 18 March 2016 - Monday 28 March 2016
Venue: London wide across 20 boroughs
Entry: Most events are FREE, some have small charge
Suitable for people of all ages and families welcome
Website: www.london.gov.uk/findyourlondon
MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Press information is available by emailing [email protected] or [email protected] . The press office number is 0207 983 4070.
GENERAL PUBLIC/NON-MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Call the Public Liaison Unit at the Greater London Authority on 020 7983 4100
DUTY PRESS OFFICER: For out-of-hours media enquiries, please call 020 7983 4000