The Storyplay Festival 2022
A blog about our first festival of play!
The Storyplay Festival was part of our New Scots Integration Project 2021/22
Click here to find out more about the Cranhill, Castlemilk & Bridgeton Hubs who hosted the festival with us.
On Saturday 17th September Licketyspit friends old and new gathered for a day that we will never forget. It was the first ever Licketyspit Storyplay Festival, and what a day it was!
It was blue skies all round, and the sun shone down on Dassie Park, Glasgow Green. By 9am the Licketyspit team, with help from brilliant volunteers, were busily getting the park ready. Putting up colourful signposts, spotty tablecloths, Storyplay exhibitions…
It was set to be a day full of dance, song, picnicking, crafting and most importantly… PLAY!
By 10.45 the Porridge & Play Hubs started to arrive, Castlemilk, Cranhill and Bridgeton. These groups were here to help host the festival with us and each had a designated area with an exhibition displaying their Storyplay adventures over the past year.
At 11.30 everyone had arrived, and we were ready to begin. Virginia, Ruby and our Licketyspit Ambassador, Zainab Adeleye welcomed everyone to the festival and warmed us all up with a great big Grandma Grandma! Then one by one the Lickety hubs stood up on the stage and presented their group!
The Castlemilk Hub told us how they like to play!
The Bridgeton Hub performed a rhyme they had made up as a group – ‘The Chicken Soup” rhyme.
The Cranhill Hub showed us a game from Nigeria, led by Mum Beauty, called ‘Willy Willy Willy Willy Oh!’
Following that was a rich and exciting day of events
We played some of the new AllScot Playcard games shared by the families in Cranhill, Castlemilk & Bridgeton, which come from Glasgow and around the world! Including a few made up by the groups themselves.
Throughout the day we had activities led by some of our Family Art Voyage artists!
Adie Baako was back with his singing and dancing from Ghana!
Hamish MacDonald led singing and storytelling in Scots! We sang ‘Welcome intae Hamish’s Hoose!’ And learnt the story of the Hoolit!
We made a mini play world with artist Ali Maclaurin; covering a great big table in sand, stones, buttons and trees made from play-doh and pipe cleaners!
Catherine Lindow led workshops with musical instruments and drawing, making shapes in response to sounds!
We watched Playing Together, a dance show created by our very own Actor-Pedagogue Andre, inspired by children and celebrating the magic of outdoor play.
Children look at the Porridge & Play Cranhill Exhibition. Each hub had been doing Storyplay together through the year and had an exhibition of the highlights!
In the middle of the day we had the Lickety Picnic!
Masses of fruit, bread, dips and vegetables were laid out for everyone to help themselves to. We also had the most fantastic array of food cooked by some of our Lickety Mums and Dads…
Jolof rice, fried chicken, rice and vegetables, samosas, fritters, to name a few…
It was an absolute FEAST!
Throughout the day we had enormous Storyplay sessions
Playing games from the Lickety Playcards like Funky Chicken, Witches Fingers, Flying Balloons, and also new games brought by the families! We were joined by loads of our Storyplay Champion families and our Ambassador Sanjeev Kohli came along too.
Play Scotland had a stall set up with some free toys and Rachel from Scottish Refugee Council also came along with some families who are new to Glasgow.
The festival marked the conclusion of our New Scots Integration Project, which celebrates play, children’s rights and multi-cultural Glasgow.
The Porridge & Play Hub families have created the first set of Allscot Playcards featuring wonderful games from their original homes, schools & playground – in Scotland and in India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Gambia, South Africa, Egypt, Sudan, Poland and Iran! They shared some of these at the festival and told the story of the project – we want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who took part and helped us make the first festival possible!
And a big thanks to our Actor-Pedagogues, Volunteers, Team and Board.
It was a really, really fantastic day that we will always remember.
And we can’t wait for the next one!
See you again soon,
Virginia, Shona, Ruby, Sarah, Andre and the whole Licketyspit team!
What you said
“It’s fun for all the families, let out your inner child”
Mum“It was the best day, so much to do!”
Child“We thought it was wonderful and exciting!”
Mum“Good, amazing, something for everyone!”
ChildrenIn Partnership With
The Storyplay Festival was part of Porridge & Play Hubs, our New Scots Integration Project in Bridgeton, Castlemilk and Cranhill, in partnership with Indigo Childcare, Cranhill Development Trust and Church House.
