What was built
In Victoria Square, beside the Town Hall, St Helens Council and the local arts organisation Heart of Glass saw Stuttgart Old Castle partly recreated to commemorate the 70th twinning anniversary between St Helens and the German city of Stuttgart. It was the first postwar twinning to take place between a British and a German town.
- Venue
- Victoria Square, by the Town Hall
- Built
- From Friday 10 August
- Toppled
- Sunday, 2pm
What happened on the Saturday
On Victoria Square, St Helens embraced the medieval theme of its 10th century castle design, with street performers from Fool’s Paradise. Between 11am and 3pm, knights in shining armour, stilt walkers and the comediennes Damsels in Distress entertained the crowds, and at 1pm the Valley Brass Band performed.
On Church Square, the In the Street event ran as part of the St Helens 150 celebrations. Presented by the Citadel in partnership with Heart of Glass and St Helens Council, In the Street was a day of interactive pop up performances, mini festivals, installations and workshops for the family. It featured children’s entertainment with the Artful Playground Band, The Vegetable Nannies from CBeebies’ Mr Bloom’s Nursery, and Dommy B from the BBC’s Rhyme Rocket.
Families could also enter The Actual Reality Arcade, a life sized interactive game zone inspired by classic video games. The vintage jazz band The Black Sheikhs performed on stilted legs with 1920s style jazz interpretations of contemporary hits, and the brand new St Helens Youth Theatre presented a special performance celebrating 150 years of St Helens. All of the events were free.