As the first borough of culture, Walthamstow ran many events, opened new stores and helped young people find their feet. For example, there was the big light show in January, which had all sorts of food stalls, and the silent film run by Stow Film Lounge. I personally attended the event and it was a really good night. There was also One Hoe Street, the space where you could find out more about the London Borough of Culture and its network.
If you’re not aware of what the London Borough of Culture is, it’s a scheme where one London borough gets selected and is funded £1.35 million to fund different cultural events and experiences to appeal to their borough. The borough is varied annually, and therefore there is a different borough of culture every year. It puts culture at the heart of the boroughs and supply a healthy competitive edge between the boroughs.
Over all, I think Walthamstow has done a very good job at being the first borough of culture. They tried to incorporate all of the communities and show how much of a mixing pot Walthamstow truly is. They tried to help young people with their CVs and getting involved in clubs, and a few of the workers for the council came into my assemblies with more information. We filled out surveys and was overall a very helpful experience.
