Amanda McLoughlin
Discover Twickenham BID Manager
We were thrilled to once again welcome hundreds of people to watch and participate in our Lunar New Year celebrations which took place on Saturday 10th February 2024.
The Dragon Dance parade was particularly well received as it made its way from Twickenham Green, along Heath Road to Twickenham Riverside, past The Barmy Arms, up Flood Lane to the bottom of Church Street, then outside the Civic Centre on York Street before ending up back at Diamond Jubilee Gardens.
It was really lovely to see so many people on the streets of Twickenham and in Diamond Jubilee Gardens for the free family activities and Dragon Dance performance.
Thanks to Twickenham Riverside Trust and Jo from Faceinating for their involvement and to everyone who came along on the day.
We really hope you managed to join us on our Twickmas Christmas Event Trail on Friday 24th November which involved three Christmas lights switch-ons, carols led by the Twickenham Green Baptist Church, Santa’s Grotto’s at Twickenham Green and The Clay Garden, the Christmas Mini Disco at Diamond Jubilee Gardens, face-painting at The Works and the Christmas Makers Market at Patch.
Special thanks to everyone who contributed to making the event so successful including Twickenham Riverside Trust, The Works, Twickenham for providing the presents for Santa’s Grotto, all the retailers who made such an effort with their decorations and everyone who performed and appeared on our King Street stage. It was wonderful to see so many people enjoying the festivities.
It was great to see that hundreds of people flocked to Twickenham for the High Tide Festival, despite the rain.
Held on Sunday 30th July, High Tide is a community-led festival that aims to reignite the spirit of Eel Pie Island in its heyday here in the heart of Twickenham.
The event prides itself on showcasing a diverse selection of the best young and established bands and musicians across 20 stages.
The annual festival is delivered thanks to a collaboration between Eel Pie Records, Discover Twickenham BID, Richmond and Wandsworth Councils, The Friends of Twickenham Green and a wide range of local Twickenham businesses.
We hope you had the chance to watch the iconic Wimbledon Tennis Championships or enjoy one of the blockbuster movies on the BIG screen in July.
Once again we were able to host this fantastic event in Diamond Jubilee Gardens and this year we were lucky enough to be joined by Ricardo’s Cellar mobile bike bar.
It was great to see so many people enjoying the tennis and taking in a movie right by the river.
When Arts Richmond came up with the plan for an Arts & Ideas festival, Discover Twickenham BID were keen to get involved.
On 1st July, Discover Twickenham brought the spectacular Out of the Deep Blue Autin Dance outdoor performance to Twickenham which featured a 13ft Sea Giant called Eko who roamed the streets and delighted visitors. The free outdoor physical theatre performance showcased the giant puppet and a female performer, inspired by the themes of the climate emergency and the biodiversity crisis.
The performances were hosted on York Street, which was closed to traffic to provide an animated town centre space for the day. Families enjoyed the performances, with deck chairs and matting laid out to create a relaxed ‘beach’ feel, while businesses on the street utilised the extra space for alfresco dining and entertainment.
On the same day, the whole town took on a festival feel with the fantastic A Taste of Twickenham, organised by Lauri Riviera. Discover Twickenham were proud sponsors of the event whose aim is to bring together the local business community and local talent to produce unique and exciting events that celebrate the existing community and attract vibrant new independent businesses to the area.
Discover Twickenham BID were keen to get involved with the Richmond Arts & Ideas Festival and support the idea of not only showcasing the creative arts in the borough but also of creating a festival atmosphere in Twickenham.
On Friday the 30th June, Discover Twickenham BID collaborated with Connection Dance to deliver a vibrant Together & Change Flashmob which brought Twickenham to a standstill over London Pride weekend.
The exciting event was put together by leading disability dance and yoga groups, who brought fabulous moves and colour to the heart of the town – all to the soundtrack of Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Holding Out for a Hero’.
Footage of the event also featured many wonderful local Twickenham businesses from Church Street and King Street, including Sandy’s, Mint, Eel Pie Records, the Brewery Market, The People Hive and many others, who supported the initiative.
In case you missed this fabulous event, check out the Flashmob hero’s video here:
Discover Twickenham BID has marked the forthcoming Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla with a celebration bench in the town centre.
The unique bench has been designed specifically for Twickenham and is inspired by the iconic St Edward’s Crown which is used at the moment of coronation. The Crown centrepiece will celebrate this historic occasion, offering local residents and visitors a seat ‘fit for a King’ and giving them an opportunity to take and share photos of themselves on the bench. The bench is situated outside the old Barclays building at the end of Church Street and it faces Twickenham’s very own King Street. The installation of the bench was officially opened by the Mayor of Twickenham Cllr Julia Cambridge on Friday 28th April.
Cllr Cambridge commented
“There will be no Borough bigger than Richmond upon Thames for celebrating the Coronation. This (Bench) is looking absolutely resplendent and as a big fan of Instagram, I can see this as being our own Instagram moment in Twickenham, it is truly, truly stunning.”
The opening was also attended by Cllr Gareth Roberts, Leader of the Council, and local Councilors Cllr Julia Neden-Watts, Cllr Stephen O’Shea, and Cllr Phil Geisler. Representative from the Church Street Association and other local businesses and members of the public.
The bench will be in place from Friday 28th April to Tuesday 30th May.
The Coronation bench was commissioned by Discover Twickenham with the support of Richmond Councils Coronation grant funding. It was installed by local design studio, Visual Impact.
Photos by Robyn Harper Photography
To mark the launch of the new Twickenham Quiz Trail, Discover Twickenham hosted an Easter family fun day at Diamond Jubilee Gardens. Activities included Punch & Judy, face painting, a mini Easter Trail with chocolate egg prizes and the chance to beat the Twickenham Guinness Book of Records World Record holder at hanging washing!
We also gave away 200 free copies of the new Discover Twickenham Quiz Trail which encourages residents and visitors to explore Twickenham and discover more about its history while having some fun along the way. If you missed out on getting your hands on a copy, the good news is they are available to purchase from local retailers including Star Print, The People Hive, Allissia’s Attic and Twickenham Museum.
Find out more about the Quiz Trail here
Following on from the huge success of last year’s event, we were thrilled to once again welcome hundreds of people to watch and participate in our Chinese New Year celebrations.
The Lion Dance was particularly popular as it made its way from Twickenham Green along Heath Rd to Church St with a final performance at Diamond Jubilee Gardens where families also enjoyed a range of Chinese themed activities such as lantern making, calligraphy, a Chinese themed Punch & Judy show and the chance to ‘meet’ the Lion.
Thanks to Twickenham Riverside Trust for their involvement and to everyone who came along on the day.