Stars, Stardust and Baked Potatoes Review

On Guy Fawkes night, Revoluton Arts kicked off the first in our series of monthly events as part of the Unboxed Festival - a festival that is happening simultaneously at multiple locations around the country to celebrate creativity throughout 2021 and 2022.

It’s not unusual to find yourself looking up at the night sky on the 5th November, but we thought we would provide an alternative to the usual firework displays you might expect to see, and instead focus on nature’s fireworks (or stars, as literally everyone calls them).

Stars, Stardust and Baked Potatoes was a family friendly event hosted at Revoluton Arts HQ (a.k.a. Marsh House). The outside performance area was set up with a huge TV mounted to the wall showing dazzling visuals, and balloons were dotted around the place for people to grab as they arrived. The atmosphere started to build as our star themed playlist (curated by YP Famalam member Rachel) pulsed through the speakers while families and people of all ages began to file through.

The evening began with an introduction by Rebecca Collis, representing Unboxed festival, explaining what it’s all about and talking about what Unboxed will be building towards in Luton for April 2022 (watch this space). This was swiftly followed by an informative and educational talk from Luton Astronomical Society members, Geoff Mitchell and Larry Jones; teaching us all about the stars, the constellations, and space. They were hoping to show us a slightly closer glimpse of the stars and planets through the telescope that Larry had provided, but unfortunately the cloudy weather was not in our favour.

That did not stop us from witnessing a spectacle though! For the second half of the evening the carnival group, Rampage Mas Band, brought their colourful crafts and star spangled creativity to brighten up the night. They took us all through a step by step process to create our own night sky in the form of a headdress. Using colourful card, glue, staples, shiny stars and, most importantly, lights, everyone made their own show stopping headwear. Once everyone was ready to show off their headdress, we turned off the lights to see everyone’s fantastic creations shine and sparkle in the dark.

Finally, once everyone was dressed to impress, it was time to have some baked potatoes! The brilliant team at Marsh House provided us with a delicious selection of baked beans, cheddar cheese, tuna, butter, and spring onions to top our potatoes with. There was also plenty of hot chocolate flowing to keep everyone warm. It went down so well that I went back for more.

All in all, we had a wonderful night of learning and creativity with our local community, and we’re looking forward to our next Unboxed event: Baking and Breaking Bread Together!

If you would like to get involved, come to Tokko Youth Centre on 3rd December from 15:30 - 19:00, or All Saints Church in Bury Park on 9th December from 15:30 - 19:00.

For the 3rd December, sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/baking-and-breaking-bread-together-tokko-youth-centre-tickets-215680605497

For the 9th December, sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/baking-and-breaking-bread-together-all-saints-church-tickets-215882549517

Photos by Greta Zabulyte