Residents and business owners had been invited by Babylon ARTS and The Stained Glass Museum to participate in this nationwide initiative that began in Bristol in 2015. Window Wanderlands have since proved a popular event for communities to adopt, particularly as something that can be delivered safely during Covid.
Jasmine Allen, Curator at The Stained Glass Museum explains how the event in Ely came about: “The idea for our Window Wanderland came from Ely resident Rachel Lovesey, who works at the Stained Glass Museum. Colleagues were excited about the idea and thought it would be a great partnership community event in partnership with Babylon ARTS”.
Rachel Lovesey (pictured right) added: “During the national lockdown, me and my children enjoyed and took comfort in the rainbow displays popping up in people’s windows around town. It really lifted us to see how people were using their homes as a way of communicating and being creative, and inspired us to do the same with our street facing windows. This is where the idea for an Ely Window Wanderland began.
“I’d heard about an event like this that happened in Bristol a few years back, and now seemed the perfect time for Ely to do something similar; that could bring us together while keeping socially distanced! We’ve had fun making our own window display and have been excited to see what our neighbours have made too!”
The event gained support from Ely City Council who awarded a small grant towards the preparation and marketing costs.
Babylon ARTS’ chief executive Claire Somerville commented: “We have loved working with The Stained Glass Museum on this event. It was a great suggestion to collaborate and Ely Window Wanderland has brought some much needed colour and creativity to our streets.”
Jasmine Allen added: “We hope everyone enjoyed creating their window displays and exploring the Window Wanderland trail as much as we did. Based on this years’ success, it’s certainly something we would like to do again.”
Click here to view all the wonderful window displays on the Spotted in Ely Facebook page.
We currently intend Window Wanderland 2021 to take place over three evenings from 22nd to 24th October.
Image: Rachel Lovesey pictured outside her family’s window display (Photo credit: This is Photography).