Two green spaces in central London will be available to host events for the Chelsea Fringe in 2022. Waterloo Millennium Green and the Red Cross Garden will both be on offer to host Fringe events to organisers without the space to do so themselves. Chelsea Fringe have collaborated with the Bankside Open Spaces Trust (BOST), who manage both gardens, to make these venues available and bring some of that festival buzz to the centre of the city.
Founder-director of the Chelsea Fringe, Tim Richardson has said that ‘the generous offer from BOST of these spaces in central London for events will hopefully generate some great ideas from our participants. It’s sometimes difficult for people to find venues, so this offer is most welcome’.
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The Red Cross Garden, with its view of the Shard, was renovated and restored by BOST to its original Victorian layout in 2005. The space was designed by Octavia Hill, one of the founders of the National Trust, and built at the same time as its neighbouring cottages in 1886. The Waterloo Millennium Green is a stone’s throw from Waterloo station and is a welcome haven in the hustle and bustle of London. The development of Waterloo Green was led by local people wanting somewhere to get outside and enjoy nature, and they still take the lead on deciding what happens with the space.
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The Chelsea Fringe is an alternative festival that runs simultaneously with the Chelsea Flower Show. The Fringe is entirely independent from the RHS show and its events can be anything from grassroots community garden projects to art installations and craft workshops. Organisers of the Fringe are pleased to be welcoming people back to in person events this year, having gone virtual for the past two years. Bankside Open Spaces Trust is an environmental and volunteering charity set up in the year 2000 by residents who wanted to make their area greener. It was one of the organisations that inspired Tim to set up the Fringe in the first place, which he thinks makes this ‘a great collaboration on several levels’.
Registration for hosting a Fringe event is open right up until the festival is on (21 – 29 May), so if you’ve got an idea there is still plenty of time to make it a reality. Currently, you can take advantage of early bird registration fees. All ideas are welcome as long as they are interesting and legal and involve gardens, flowers, veg-growing or landscapes.