BLACKPOOL MUSEUM TASTER AS PROJECT MOVES FORWARD

For the first time, people will be able to get a taster of what the museum could include, comment on the plans, try out a set of interactive challenges, and see special performances.

The event will include quintessential parts of Blackpool’s history that everyone can enjoy, including a Blackpool Tower building challenge, a 1920s singing booth and large screen projections of Blackpool through the ages.

The events are announced as Blackpool Council is set to confirm its £2m contribution towards the final museum project.

A report to the Council’s Executive will recommend committing the money as part of a round two bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the funding to implement the museum plans.

Cllr Simon Blackburn, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “I have always thought that it was a real shame that a town as well-loved as Blackpool didn’t have a museum.

“So a few years ago, I sat down with fellow council officers and asked for us to look in to what we could create that would properly tell ‘the Blackpool story’.

“We have come so far since that day. A first round of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund has helped us begin to turn our ideas into reality and I am extremely excited that people will soon be able to see how the museum could work for the first time.

“As part of our application, we will be bidding to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the money to build the final museum. As part of that bid, the Council is required to make its own contribution. We have known about that aspect of the bid from the outset and have ring-fenced the necessary money for this particular, very worthwhile, purpose.

“Not only will this museum be a great addition to our long list of top-class attractions, it will also create real, full-time jobs and bring more people in to the fabulous Winter Gardens. We also hope that locals will enjoy the story that the museum tells which will help to foster even more civic pride in this great town.”

In May 2014, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Blackpool Council announced a £1.6m pot of money to start developing how a Blackpool Museum would look.

Since the announcement, a group of eight dedicated staff have spoken to over 2,500 people in Blackpool and across the country to develop the museum and explore what it could include.

The aim is for the Museum, which will be based in the Pavilion Theatre and Horseshoe at the Winter Gardens, to incorporate all the best features of Blackpool’s famous history in a fun, interactive way, far detached from a traditional museum format.

Blackpool’s Museum will invite visitors to join in and explore  bringing Blackpool’s history to life.

The event will include Museum architecture and design plans and ideas for people to give feedback  on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 August between 11am and 4pm in the Pavilion Theatre at the Winter Gardens.

A whole section of the event  will be dedicated to trying things out, including a Tower building challenge with artist Nicola Dale to see how big or intricate you can build a tower.

There will be interactives, object-handling sessions and making workshops for all ages, while large screens will project British Pathé films of Blackpool throughout the ages.

There will also be films of the general public recalling their past memories of Blackpool and beyond – growing up and living here as well as visiting on traditional family holidays.

The Pavilion Theatre space will feature the Bluebird Big Band on and around the stage, providing live music for a rolling programme of dance performances, demonstrations and workshops.

There will also be a programme of Blackpool historians and enthusiasts delivering ten minute talks on their specialist Blackpool subjects. At the same time, people will be able to enjoy live performances from a typical landlady and of historical Blackpool phrenologist Albert Ellis, as well as getting involved with a 1920s song booth.

If approved, the finished museum will be located in the Pavilion Theatre and Horseshoe at the Winter Gardens, repairing these historic buildings and hiring around 80 full time employees, as well as creating internships, apprenticeships and volunteering opportunities, with the Council aiming to hire at least 80% of those posts locally.

A second round submission for the final money for the Museum is scheduled to take place in February 2016, with a decision expected later that year.