02.06.2021 ELEPHANT & CASTLE CELEBRATES THE RETURN OF ITS ELEPHANT STATUE WITH AN ELEPHANTASTIC CELEBRATION FOR THE COMMUNITY
This June Elephant & Castle will be celebrating the return of the community’s beloved elephant statue which is being welcomed to its new home in the area’s shopping and dining destination Castle Square. The statue has been restored with a fresh lick of paint, and will now stand proudly atop of Castle Square.
On Saturday 26th June, the Elephant & Castle Town Centre Team will be throwing a welcome party for the local community to celebrate the return of the iconic landmark with a whole day of family-fun entertainment, and delicious food and cocktails from local traders.
To mark the elephant’s homecoming, Elephant & Castle will be bringing the story to life with a free spectacle performance of Elephantastic: “The Story of a Travelling Elephant” which will be performed in Castle Square across the day. Written and directed by John Whelan, the artistic director of People’s Company, the history of Elephant & Castle is told through entertaining narration, music and interpretive dance, with some of the area’s famous historical residents making special appearances, including Charlie Chaplin, Mary Wollstonecraft and Michael Caine. The 15-minute show will be performed at 12:00 PM and twice more at 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM.
The celebrations will continue throughout the day, with music and entertainers roaming around Castle Square from 11:00AM to 17:00PM. Everyone is invited to join in the summer festivities with performances on the main stage from Latin dancers, African drummers, and a soundtrack of well-known hits provided by the Community Hub Choir made up of Elephant & Castle locals.
A selection of traders who make up the independent local food, drink and retail businesses at Castle Square will be cooking up a storm for visitors to sample their authentic Latin and Caribbean delicacies. Stop by throughout the day to enjoy a bite to eat and the options of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks from traders including Coma Y Beba’s tasty empanadas and Colombian cocktails, and Faye Gomes’ delicious Guyanese dishes from Kaieteur Kitchen.
Faye Gomez, Owner of Kaieteur Kitchen at Castle Square, says: “Elephant and Castle has been a long-standing home for most of us traders, so it’s a great pleasure to have the statue back in Castle Square. We would like to welcome all our friends and residents of the community to a special gathering on Saturday 26th to join us for a day of fun!”
Juan Olivares, CEO of Inara Money Transfer at Castle Square, commented: “It is very exciting to be part of the transformation of Elephant and Castle, a transformation that includes better surroundings and a better quality of life. It will bring with it a lot of new architecture and contemporary features but as with London’s amazing mix of periods and styles, we’re delighted to welcome back this iconic sculpture. A symbol of Elephant and Castle, and now a part of Castle Square, which represents our past and traditions whilst looking into the future with optimism and appreciation.”
For those who can’t make it down on Saturday, do not fear as there’ll be free live entertainment, giant family games and roaming performers across the day on Sunday 27th June. Alongside the statue return celebration, Elephant & Castle’s Virtual Community Hub has teamed up with Creation Station Kids Club to put on a series of virtual family-friendly arts and crafts workshops for kids aged 2-10. Running on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the month at 11:00 AM and 4.30 PM, classes include ‘Undersea painting and making sea creatures for World Oceans Day’, ‘making Father’s Day pop-up cards’, and ‘design your own football kit and finger puppets for tabletop football.’
In addition, throughout June Re-Tribe’s workshops are all around the theme of What Love Looks Like. The Virtual Community Hub will be exploring love language, what love means to us, how we express and connect through our own love language and inviting opportunities for writing practices, reflection, story sharing and meditations, which will be on every Thursday in June at 11.00am.
The Castle Square event will be subject to the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown and will adhere to the latest government guidance on social distancing. Castle Square are always open to new ways to celebrate Elephant & Castle’s vibrant community and are calling on all local artists, musicians and performance groups who’d like to show off their talent performing at future community events by emailing info@elephantandcastletowncentre.co.uk.
For further information, please contact the Elephant and Castle press team on: elephant@wcommunications.co.uk
For further information about the Virtual Community Hub events mentioned above, see below. Full timetable here and in the accompanying flyers – all events are FREE:
Creation Station Kids Club
What: Free virtual arts and craft workshops for kids aged 2-10 years old.
When:
- Tuesday 1st June @ 11.00am – “My Pet Rocks” – Making your own pet rock plus somewhere for them to live
- Thursday 3rd June @ 11.00am- “Undercover Agent” – Create your undercover disguise (glasses and hat) plus a magnifying glass to look for clues!
- Thursday 10th June @ 4.30pm – “World Oceans Day” – Undersea painting and printing and making sea creatures
- Thursday 17th June @ 4.30pm – “Father’s Day” – Creation of pop-up cards
- Thursday 24th June @ 4.30pm – “Football Session” – Design your own football kit and make finger puppets to play tabletop football
Where: Zoom – request access prior to the event by emailing juliascoble@thecreationstation.co.uk
Re-Tribe’s workshops
What: Free workshops looking at the theme of What Love Looks Like by exploring love language, what love means to us, how we express and connect through our own love language and inviting opportunities for writing practices, reflection, story sharing and meditations
When: Every Thursday in June at 11.00am.
Where: Zoom – request access prior to the event by emailing juliascoble@thecreationstation.co.uk
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