Residents across Crawley are being invited to step away from their daily routines and take part in a town-wide play day on Wednesday 11 June 2026. The event, which runs from 12noon to 2pm, is being organised by the local arts charity Creative Crawley and HemingwayDesign to launch the upcoming National Festival of Play 2027.
The free event is open to everyone in the community. To mark the occasion, schools throughout the area are extending their lunchtimes to host giant games of catch and other shared activities. Pupils at Broadfield Primary Academy will take part by building and experimenting in a specially constructed giant cardboard playground.
For those in the town centre, the Creative Crawley headquarters at Unit 79/80 in the County Mall will be open to the public. The space will host a variety of action-packed board games throughout the two-hour window. Participants are encouraged to share photos and videos of their activities on Instagram by tagging @creativecrawley.
This initiative follows the recent publication of the Play England 10-year strategy, which advocates for a new national focus on play. The local event serves as the first step in preparations for the larger festival arriving in Crawley next year. Creative Crawley, which was established in 2021 and is led by Creative Director Louise Blackwell, continues to work on various community projects, including a cultural quarter consultation commissioned by Crawley Borough Council.
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