Edinburgh residents are busy with final preparations for The Big Lunch (www.thebiglunch.com) next Sunday (7 June), which helps people get to know their neighbours better and create closer communities.
In the seventh year of the UK-wide initiative, lots of Big Lunch events are taking place across the city, including in Willowbrae, Newhaven, Trinity and Gorgie.
The Big Lunch is the UK’s annual get-together for neighbours, an idea from the Eden Project made possible by the Big Lottery Fund and supported by Halifax and Asda. It is the perfect recipe for having fun with neighbours, feeding community spirit and helping to build stronger neighbourhoods.
Elaine, who is helping to organise a fiesta themed street party with her neighbours in Trinity, explains: “We decided to give The Big Lunch a go in 2009 when we realised we didn’t know everyone in our stair of 8 flats – we’ve now held one every year since!
“We ended up meeting people who had lived in the street for over 40 years but who I had never even seen before as they rarely come out. They had seen previous year’s events through their window and decided to come down. It has been a real icebreaker for us, bringing our community closer together, breaking down barriers and providing a chance to socialise.”
Halifax Princes Street branch will be hosting a Big Lunch at Gorgie City Farm from 10am – 3pm next Sunday.
The Halifax Edinburgh Big Lunch event will host a range of activities for the community to get involved in to raise money for Gorgie City Farm and three other local charities. There will be a gazebo with free sandwiches, music throughout the day and fun activities including face-painting, tombola, bouncy castle, a ‘beat the goalie’ event, egg and spoon races and sack races. From 11am-12pm, the Lord Provost will be attending the event.
The Halifax Edinburgh Princes Street Branch is working with Asda, who will be providing sandwiches on the day.
Esther Clark, Branch Manager at Halifax Princes Street said: “We’re really excited that Halifax Princes Street is hosting a Big Lunch event at Gorgie City Farm on Sunday 7 June. There will be lots of fun activities for all the family to raise money for charity and we are looking forward to welcoming everyone from the local community along. The Big Lunch provides a great opportunity for us to talk to people on a more personal level and really helps strengthen relationships in the community”.
It’s never too late to host a Big Lunch! Anyone who would like to host one on Sunday 7 June (or another date if they prefer) can request a free planning pack from www.thebiglunch.com or call 0845 850 8181.
In 2014 over 4.83 million people took part in Big Lunches across the UK, including thousands from Scotland, who held street parties, picnics in the park and community hall gatherings.
24
0
20
