Love to Play 2021

Love to Play 2021 was a great success as a week long online festival with lots of provocations, challenges and fun ideas to do at home and outdoors within the lockdown routemap.

We met people from all over the world, ran and played host to over 30 online happenings, ran a wonderful Space Den Competition, crowdfunded pavement chalks to communities across Leeds, and kick started events which we are continuing now.

Firstly Radio Funtime which is a regular Zoom/Radio mashup with Claire Duffield, the format is such fun. Claire goes out and about, visiting people, places, dogs and swans. She’s like a modern day Challenge Anneka, and up for daft/silly challenges, from dry land kayaking to dizzy dogs, rolling down hills and chasing sticks. We video Radio Funtime and then share it on YouTube. We’ve been joined by chief executives of councils, tourist boards, writers, and as importantly have a regular Shed hour with the amazing Jane Earnshaw. Tune in for the next one in July.

Secondly, we’ve been delighted to convene Play & Health, which brings together Laura Walsh of Great Ormond Street Hospital and Lisa Beaumont of Leeds Children’s Hospital. They’ve now co-facilitated two very collegiate lunch time sessions around Play, culture change, digital, and the power of imagination in creating love filled connection for patients, their carers, families and friends. Get in touch if you’d like to be part of the next get together, it’s open to anybody interested in play to join. We are joined by a really varied range of participants which adds to the diversity of perspectives, ideas and stories.