Lampadophores

Info

It was a night for all the family on 9 November 2023 when outdoor spectacular, ‘Lampadophores’ hit the streets of Luton.

We invited the giant cheeky ‘Lampadophores’ (Lam-pa-doh-for-es) puppets from France to spread mischief and joy in the town for this one-night-only extravaganza. Picto Facto is a street theatre company, featuring artists describing themselves as “image blowers”, who create inflatable structures.

The free and fun procession of illuminated inflatable puppets, plus music and performances, began in Bury Park with a finale with the puppets and cheeky acrobatic performers in St George’s Square.

“I loved the voices and the music. It made me feel happy. It’s important to see things like this because sometimes you don’t see things like this and it makes you want to take part” Ayden Wilson, 9

“I think the event was fantastic it was very loud. I’m speechless about the balloons but I love them. I just came from work and it made me happy. It was refreshing to see” Rohit Raja, 25

“I thought it was exciting and very visually interesting. My favourite thing was the scale of it and the fact it went through the town and engaged with so many people. It gives the people in Luton something to do and see” Judith Chapman, 56

Alongside the parade, 480 children at Beech Hill Primary in Bury Park took part in pre-event workshops, making miniature light-up puppets, like the Lampadophores. On the day of the parade three open workshops for families were held in The Mall, supported by Revoluton Associate artist Shabeena Parveen.

“These workshops and events build a sense of belonging and happiness within our community . . . The children absolutely LOVED it and each child thrived in this setting! It was definitely an amazing memory we won’t forget!” Ms Choudhury, a teacher at Beech Hill Primary School

Crescent Hall to St George's Square