MidSummerland at Light the Way
Dates and times
Saturday 27 November
5pm – 9pm
Location
Thamesmead
On Saturday 27 November, we’ll be presenting Anatomical’s magical audio adventure MidSummerland at Light the Way, a one-mile light trail that will connect Thamesmead and Bexley.
Breathe In, press play and set off on an extraordinary adventure together. Take the Noodle Pathway, past the Cannonball Hedgehogs, through the Thoughtful Field and into the mysterious tent where your fortune will be told. Make sure to save enough energy for the grand finale – the annual trifle dance!
Light the Way is a trail of mesmerising displays created as a collaboration between Peabody and Bexley’s Lesnes Abbey, delivered by outdoor arts company Emergency Exit Arts. Other sponsors are Clever Cities and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
In addition to MidSummerland, audiences can expect to see works by local artists including Miyuki Kasahara, who will be hosting a creative lantern-making workshop; Jackson Payne, whose audio-visual holograms will be dispersed amongst the trees and shrubbery by the lakeside; Nathalie Coste whose two installations include ‘Instafrost’, an illuminated sculpture made of willow and reclaimed parachutes, inspired by the damaging effects of climate breakdown on permafrost; and TUG, produced by local artists Debo Adegoke, Alex Tuckwood and Lisa Cheung, which will see floating sculptures pulled along by radio-controlled tug boats around Southmere Lake.
Visitors can look forward to seeing ‘The Hourglass’, an impressive four-metre-high sculpture which aims to connect audiences with the idea that we are all ‘one world and one people’; and handcrafted, oversized roses that will line the entrance to Lesnes Abbey.
It’s also a chance for people to get a first look at a small-scale test version of the Fields of EveryWhen hot air balloon created by M+R (Neil Musson and Jono Retallick). The artists are currently collating stories, memories and artwork from local residents as well as people with links to Thamesmead which will be interpreted into embroidery and printed onto a 23-metre-high hot air balloon and tethered in flight above Thamesmead next summer.
In addition to the light installations there will be interactive workshops, storytelling and music, as well as food and hot drinks available from the Chestnuts Kiosk at Lesnes Abbey and The Y on the Lake, Thamesmead’s newest cafe at the Lakeside Centre.