Bluecoat to host official 300th birthday tea party
Bluecoat, Liverpool’s centre for the contemporary arts and the city centre’s oldest Grade 1-listed building, is set to continue its year of special 300th birthday celebrations with an official birthday tea party.
The free family fun day on Sunday September 10 will see party-goers of all ages invited to enjoy afternoon tea in the beautiful Bluecoat garden, with live music, including a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ by the Choir with No Name and cutting of the birthday cake at 2pm, a BBQ and cupcake decorating activities for children.
There will also be family activities inspired by the fascinating history of the building, along with arts and craft demonstrations from the independent retailers based at Bluecoat.
Mary Cloake, Bluecoat’s Chief Executive said “We’re over half way through our exciting programme of tercentenary year celebrations, which has included events, exhibitions, and even royal visits.
“Before we launch into our packed autumn and winter programme, we’d like to mark the end of a very special Bluecoat summer by inviting the people of Liverpool to a big celebration of our beautiful and important building. It is thanks to their support that Bluecoat has been able to achieve so much during its 300 years, and we look forward to celebrating with them.”
The Bluecoat building began life as a charity school in 1717, before housing an arts community in 1907 and formally becoming an arts centre in 1927, making it the oldest of its kind in the UK. It is now Liverpool’s centre for the contemporary arts, supporting and presenting visual art, music, dance, live art and literature
The event has been organised to mark Bluecoat’s 300th birthday as part of Heritage Open Days, which take place across the country from 7 – 10 September.
To coincide with the national initiative that celebrates England’s history and culture, Bluecoat is opening its doors for a week filled with heritage-inspired events and activities for all the family, including heritage tours, a talk by TV art historian and architecture expert Dan Cruickshank, open studios and POOL – an installation by artist Mary Prestidge, which is inspired by Bluecoat’s hidden courtyard space which was once a swimming pool.
