Big Blue Play at West Moors FarmFest

Big Blue Play creates welcoming pop-up playgrounds in the local community and beyond. We chatted with its founder, Adele, about the importance of play, honouring uncertainty and why it’s okay for kids to get bored.

Tell us about Big Blue Play

Big Blue Play events are a celebration of community play. The ethos is inspired by a day at the seaside (hence the ‘big blue’) where children tend to be given freedom to play all day, often in mixed age groups and with new friends they make on the sand. Most of the time, a day at the seaside gives an unspoken permission for everyone to switch off and switch into play.

What can we expect from your pop-up playgrounds?

I like to describe them as ‘where forest school meets Vivienne Westwood!’. I like to create thought-provoking and colourful playscapes, mostly outdoors, giving a gentle reminder that kids don’t need lots of toys and adults telling them what to do. They just need time and space to play.

Why is play so important?

Play is everything. A playworker I admire greatly recently said in a podcast that “play is as important as oxygen, nutrition and love.” I couldn’t agree more.

What do you have planned for west moors farmfest?

Expect to see the kids confidently owning their play space. Ideas will spring to mind and they will get immersed with all the random things in a way that is meaningful to them.

Some children take a while to warm up to new places and new ways of doing things, so we ask parents and carers to honour this uncertainty. Let the children suss it out for a bit. Research shows that children need up to 45 minutes to acclimatise to any new spaces.

And what about the grown-ups?

While grown-ups must stay in or on the edge of the play space, adults often feedback how refreshing it is to be encouraged to relax while their children play. Many are surprised by how much their child/ren are capable when they are just left to it.

What could we all do to encourage more meaningful connections with the world around us?

Less busy-ness. It creates more opportunities for slow days without an agenda. Free play takes time. It is okay for children to get bored. Boredom leads to play.

What’s next for Big Blue Play?

We’ve got a really exciting series of Pop-Up Playgrounds exploring harbour life, shipwreck and setting sail, commissioned by Poole Museum. They are dotted around Poole until the grand finale on National Play Day, which is Wednesday 2 August. Sign up to our mailing list to find out more.

Big Blue Play and @BigBluePlay

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Adele’s book, Children Don’t Dissolve In The Rain is out now and will be available to buy at FarmFest.

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See the Big Blue Play pop-up playground at West Moors FarmFest on Saturday 3 June from 3-9.30pm. West Moors FarmFest is a family friendly festival raising money for local charities. Get your tickets.