A spectacular free public festival which features a nine-metre-long squid and a large rotating moon is stopping in Blackburn.
The Tour de Moon Convoy aims to provoke ‘exciting and original experiences’, with a special focus on nightlife, creativity and culture.
The convoy lands in Blackburn’s Cathedral Square on Thursday 19 May and is also stopping in 13 towns and cities across the UK. It features huge floats and interactive elements such as a rotating moon that appears and disappears at night.
The festival is also accompanied by music and DJ sets, a full size replica of nine metre-long ‘Archie The Squid’ who resides at The Natural History Museum, talks, film screenings and an inflatable game designed with the help of scientists at NASA and the SETI Institute.
Tour de Moon’s creator is the artist and filmmaker Dr. Nelly Ben Hayoun of Nelly Ben Hayoun Studios. Her large-scale projects have seen her collaborate with Noam Chomsky, Pussy Riot, Massive Attack and Kid Cudi to name but a few.
Dr Nelly Ben Hayoun said: “Our main objective of Tour de Moon is to prompt radical imagination, support pluralistic thinking so to offer alternative futures developed by and with youths.
“With this festival we decided to redistribute our funding and to use our platform to celebrate the nightlife sector and young adults - demographics which have been hit especially hard by the impacts of Covid and funding cuts over the last few years.”
This will be the first time that a replica of Archie has been created, and John Ablett, curator at the Natural History Museum, said it was very exciting to have Archie as part of convoy.
He said: “The giant squid is one of those amazing creatures that has captured the imagination of scientists and the public alike.
“It is often said that we know more about the surface of the moon than the deep ocean, however as our understanding and exploration of the oceans increases this just isn’t true.”
Nelly Ben Hayouns added: “It then makes perfect sense for us to bring one of the rare denizens of the deep to life and we are very grateful to the Natural History Museum for allowing us to recreate Archie and introduce him to a whole new audience.”
Tour de Moon is one of 10 major creative projects commissioned as part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, which is taking place across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales in 2022.
Martin Green, Chief Creative Officer of UNBOXED said “We are delighted to be on board the cosmic journey that is Tour De Moon, as we meet with young minds to experience and take part in the making of alternative futures in a free and public nationwide event. Now everyone, come along, get your tickets, and have a good time.”
You can get your free tickets here
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