The Lantern Parade! A celebration of community!
The Streets of East Greenwich lit up on Thursday night as the Peoples Parlour took their show on the road with the Lantern Parade! A celebration of community!
Hundreds of residents took to the streets with their lanterns and danced and sang their way through an hour long procession. This was the show piece of the first term of the Peoples Parlour. An initiative set up by EGRA and EEA to target social isolation amongst the senior members of our community. The Peoples Parlour participants have been building lanterns and running workshops in local schools over the last few weeks in readiness for the big celebration. And what a celebration it turned out to be. East Greenwich has never seen so much colour. Cars were brought to a standstill and local residents took to the streets to join in the fun! The Bollywood Brass band led the music, playing all our favourite Bollywood tunes with a festive twist as we snaked our way through the streets. Performances from The Street Theatre Squad kicked off the evening and closed the procession back at Rothbury Hall. Then the party started with hot mince pies and hot chocolate provided by the Sainsbury Charlton riverside and Tesco Trafalgar rd! Back inside Rothbury Hall the party continued with an end of term panto from the participants of the Peoples Parlour, poetry reading and singing! This was all topped off with a festive quiz , raffle and beers donated by Greenwich Meantime Brewery. It really doesn’t get better than that!
Matt Pennycook MP was on hand as a special guest and supporter of the Parlour project and said a few words to congratulate the boys and girls of the local schools Christchurch, St Mary Magdalen, Corelli College, Plumstead Manor and John Roan who worked so hard to make the evening a success. Thank you Matt for your continued support of EGRA! Local councillors Steve Brain and Chris Lloyd were also seen brandishing their Lanterns and joining in the fun. Sincere thanks to the ward councillors for helping to kick off the crowd funding campaign with their generous contribution from the ward budget!
A huge thank you to all the staff of EEA and the volunteers from EEA and EGRA who have made this event possible. A special shout out to Tash, Amaya, Arji, Stephen, Brett, Greg , Kim and Manuela as the creatives that make the parlour tick week in week out!
Finally EGRA & Peoples Parlour would like to thank all those who contributed donations , their time and huge effort to make this project a reality. We look forward to many more months of fun with the peoples Parlour and its all thanks to your generosity.
Roll of Honour
The Volunteers: Particularly, Patrick , Sheila, Brett, Kim, Manuela, Charlotte, Kate and Mark
Emergency Exit Arts
The participants of the Peoples Parlour
The residents of East Greenwich
The Members of the East Greenwich Residents Association
The School Children and Parents of Greenwich; Christchurch, St Mary Magdalen, Corelli College, Plumstead manor & John Roan
Arts Council England
The Crowdfunders!
Royal Greenwich Community Arts Fund
Ward Councillors , Denise , Steve and Chris
Matt Pennycook MP
Reverend Margaret Cave
Meantime Brewery
Sainsbury’s Charlton Riverside (hampers and mince pies)
Tesco’s Trafalgar Rd (hampers and mince pies)
Hanson’s
B&Q
Cutty Sark Pub, Pelton Arms, The Standard
Bollywood Brass Band
The Street Theatre Squad
EGRA was set up to give East Greenwich a voice and a sense of place. On Thursday night at the Lantern parade they could hear us loud and clear!
