Calling everyone from pre-schoolers to parents and pensioners. You are invited to enter a world of joy, colour and friendship with wall to wall fun guaranteed.
Middlesbrough will soon be home to Happy Rooms and they are exactly what they are called. Rooms that will make you beam from ear to ear.
The former Marks and Spencer store in the town centre will open its doors for six weeks with two floors of rooms all individually designed by a host of artists all with the aim of celebrating and creating happiness.
Happy Rooms will run from Saturday, 3 August to Sunday 22 September open to all from Wednesday to Sunday each week. Mondays and Tuesday will be dedicated to the Holiday Activity Fund (HAF) Programme. During September it will be open to the public from Friday to Sunday with school groups invited from Monday to Thursday each week.
Thanks to the HAF Programme, no-one has to miss out on the fun. Every Monday and Tuesday throughout August, the HAF programme, delivered through Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland Councils, offers fully funded visits to Happy Rooms as part of the summer holiday activities.
Created by Teesside-based Stellar Creates, organisers of Nightfall, Happy Rooms will explore what it means to be and feel happy. Follow the trail, or make your own route through Happy Rooms and enjoy the exhibitions, vibrant spaces and play activities along the way.
Happy Rooms will feature Flutter of Joy where, at the push of a button, you can be showered with confetti. Close your eyes and imagine a special moment to celebrate. Feel the love flutter all around you as confetti gently rains down all around.
Happy as the Day is Long is a room filled with a giant mirrorball creating a kaleidoscope of brightly coloured mirror pieces. Thanks to a perfectly curated ultimate Happy Playlist specially picked by local music lovers, you can let your head spin under a radiant rainbow of colours.
A giant digital colouring book is just waiting to be filled thanks to MakeAmplify and their mural. Using specialist iPads, visitors can colour in the book, inspired by the animals and nature of the Tees Valley. The murals will then be projected larger than life onto the walls filling the whole space with light and colour.
The Marble Run challenges you to build a giant run for oversized marbles – are you ready to take it on? Thanks to creators, Wild Rumpus, you can tackle the run made from everything from broomsticks and lampshades to bamboo and piping. You’ll have to get hands-on to steer the giant marbles from the top of the run as they weave their way down to the bottom!
Did someone say ‘free ice cream’? Yes they did. On entering the Pass It On room, audiences will be offered free joy in the form of an ice cream – as long as they pledge to pass on that joy to someone else. These pledges will be added to the walls of the room, growing over the weeks to create a heartwarming portrait of friendship, care and connection.
Lyndsey Stephenson and Rachel Willis are Directors of Stellar Creates. Lyndsey says: “Our high streets are changing and we hope that Happy Rooms will be a fun addition to Middlesbrough town centre, albeit for a limited time. The whole aim of our summer project is to celebrate and promote happiness.”
Rachel adds: “There really is something for everyone across the twelve Happy Rooms and we are delighted to be part of the HAF Programme ensuring it is available to as wide an audience as possible. That as well as the extensive schools programme we have throughout September means children from across the region can come along and be happy!”
Happy Rooms will be open from 10am until 4pm (timed entry every 15 minutes with last entry at 3pm) and the experience lasts 60-90 minutes. Quiet and relaxed slots will be at 10am and 10.15am daily. In addition to the rooms there will be creative activities, artist pop-ups and a Happy Tuck Shop. Tickets are £5 for children and £7 for adults. For tickets go to www.happyrooms.co.uk
