Way up high in the north Cumbrian rolling hills, we chugged our pedal wagon onto site + pitched up camp for two weeks. Three yurts appeared and an inventive kitchen was rigged up, all of the creative materials you could ever imagine soon started appearing + then came the kids….. Around sixty elated wonderful children turned up early on Monday morning for endless days of making, playing fun. It is Summer Weeks, and pretty much anything goes. The lucky kids are encouraged to do whatever workshops they want, for as long as they want. With green woodworking, theatre and arts workshops, game playing, shelter building, campfire cooking, ceramics constructing, musical makings and adventure orienteering; there’s no way these kids could run out of things to do. All week, we made snippets of films in an attempt to capture the wonderful creativity that seemed to be intensifying as the week progressed and on the Big Thursday Night Camp Out, we surprised all the kids with a special pedal powered screening of the film we’d been editing deep into each night in order to get finished on time! It really was incredible watching their expressions, and made all of the furious slicing and dicing of the footage very worth while. Then, it was time to move sites for week #2, and do it all over again!

We are delighted to be back in the UK after a pretty beautiful winter at the peak of the great French Alps. Looking forward to another summer of pedal powered fueled fun.

We’ve packed our van up, it’s filled with paint + pedal power and we’re going to live in the mountains for a bit. We will be back again when the warm winds start flowing + the flowers begin to show their faces once more.

If you’re on the search for some pedal powered magique, we strongly recommend getting in touch with Magnificent Revolution, they will see to all your green powered needs.

Have safe bicycling beaming winters and we’ll see you on the other side.

It started like this

Around 70 kids appeared, as if from nowhere. The evening was unexpectedly beautiful + barmy, so we played games outside for an hour, then ventured into the spooky depths of the Boathouse. We’d be making creepy sculptures for it all week with the local kids during half term so it’d been turned into a sinister haven. We fired up the pedals + played endless music orientated games in order to tire them all out so they’d be long gone when the real horror started..

The darkness set in so it was soon time to hook the bicycles up to the many large scale lanterns we’ve been making over the last month. As the pedals started spinning, out of nowhere, these huge creatures [a peacock, an owl, a stag + a wild boar] hummed into life and if feet tired, the lanterns would dull in + out, as if they were sinister breathing life forms unsettling the spooky atmosphere. Plus, we seemed to have endless volunteers from eager kids who still weren’t tired yet – we were running behind on our horrific pedal powered showreel!

Outside, The Circushouse Collective were spinning fire + stilt walking around the lake, but inside the atmosphere had chilled somewhat. The bicycles were now powering the breathing creatures + our VJ rig we’d made for the occasion. Live sinister music accompanied the unsettling flickering images that were moving around the room. All of a sudden, any kids still remaining were shipped home to bed + the evening got a whole lot darker.

The vegan BBQ was raging hot + the Critical Mass massive arrived, adding another blissful 100 bicycles or so to our already handsome collection. People gathered about chattering beneath hundreds of lanterns we’d made + conversing with the strolling spooky acts that were patrolling the area [pictured, above]. A circle of flames appeared out of nowhere and within it performed 12 members of the Spokes Bicycle Dance Troupe, who laid on a themed act for everyone to enjoy.

It was the biggest test our rig had ever had. We were now powering lanterns, lighting, music + now the show reel was squealing into action with some home made horror movies made by local film makers. Many of the actors were present, so there was plenty of cheering + screaming + applauding  going on. One of the PPP team made a film especially for the event, it was all shot in Platt Fields, and you can watch it here if you like!

The live music began + the roof of the Boathouse started trembling with great elated energy. And all the musicians began piling onto our peculiar little stage and it evolved into one huge pedal powered jam session.

Same time again next year, if we’ve recovered.

Just in case the posters are a bit higgle-de-piggledy; here’s a brief menu for the much anticipated approaching evening :

5pm-6.30pm : Kiddie friendly ferocious fun [must be accompanied by an adult] : A chance to have a peek at all the scary sculptures we’ve been making with the half term kiddies all week P L U S : Pedal powered party games a plenty – prizes, of course, slurpings + munchings + a short spooooky movie

6.30pm-we get told to stop : Terrifying entertainment for oldies : Expect to be in store for pedal powered g[a]lore in every shape + form; creature lantern illuminations [some of them prowling around], live VJing + music making, short spooky films made by local talents, strolling circus performances, torch lit art trails, live music + more + more.

This is a first ever; for pedal power, for Platt Fields, for Manchester, for anywhere ! So come be a part of something very special….

Find PPP getting amongst it all throughout the biking week of horrific magique

COME GET INVOLVED, EVERYBODY WELCOME!

Get your bicycling ways ready for CREATURES OF THE NIGHT; a pedal powered evening of sinister entertainment is coming your way.

Consider this a CALL OUT : for involvement, we await with eager open arms for participation from across the community – see poster for info…

The weekend, brought to you by X-Trax; an organisation devoted to celebrating the extents that outdoor performances can create – we were very honoured to be invited to join in the fun.

Day two and three was where we came in, probably slightly less spectacular, but a marvelous marvel nonetheless. Piccadilly Gardens on a Saturday is usually somewhere you’d definitely want to avoid, but today it was taken over by rolling evolving feasts of state of the art street theatre for everybody to enjoy or participate in if they wished. People were certainly welcome to take over the show at our funny little set-up. Yes, why not sing your heart out in the middle of a shopping frenzied city centre, on a bicycle, with lots of people watching [and singing too].

WOW- what a way to watch a brilliant film- beneath the natural canopy of a mini forest : with an incredible choice of tree stumps or bicycle saddles for seats.

Bankey’s Exit Through The Gift Shop is a story of how an eccentric French shop keeper and amateur film maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner.

If you’d like to learn more about the movie you are soon to be pedal powering- click here!

We’re sheepishly veering away from Platt Fields for this occasion + showing the film at neighbouring Alexandra Park .

Q. But how will you find us in this vast green space?

A. Enter Alexandra Park via the gate directly opposite Wellington Road on Alexandra Road South.
Follow the path towards the pond…
You’ll stumble across our outdoors cinema amongst the trees to your left. Look for twinkly lights!

+ of course- be prepared to pedal, as always!

For a weekly timetable of workshops, open sessions + cafe opening times click here!

For a menu of delicious offerings in the cafe click here!

For more information on the project- including aims, ethics + objectives click here!

Watch one of the films we showed here, it’s a stop motion made by the amazing Elle Brotherhood, a local artist generating creative bliss all around the city.

Keep a look out for more PP cinema events – we’re planning a huge weekend in October (so that we don’t have to twiddle our thumbs till 10pm to commence viewing!) : inviting all creatives to get involved- to perform, make films, VJ, make installations, dress-up, whatever you want to do…. we’ll be illuminating Platt Fields Park + bringing the new dark evenings alive! Get in touch if you fancy getting involved..

18th June : 12-5pm : The Eco Garden, Platt Fields Park (just follow the lake round about quarter of the way from Mabfield Road entrance to your left and look for us, you won’t be able to miss us!)

We will meet in central Bristol on Wednesday 22nd June, and ride in a group to the festival. Our trained marshals will be on hand to lead the way and help out with any problems, and cyclists’ luggage will travel separately in our support vehicle.

Like all our events there will be sustainably-powered music along the way, and hopefully a fun way to start the festival early on 2 wheels!

For more information and to book your place, please have a look at our ride to Glastonbury information page.

The festival have announced their Green Traveller campaign this year, to encourage more people to get to the festival by bike. Find out more at their cycling information page.

Hope to see you there!