A heart-stopping wall of death is coming to east London when a month-long winter festival is set up in the run-up to New Year’s Eve.
The chilling ‘Winterville’ complex is being staged in Victoria Park with cultural collectives and entertainment including a magical outdoor ice rink, huge Ferris wheel, fairground rides, street market and daring motorbike stunt riders defying logic—and death—as they tear along the wall sideways, unaware of Newton’s Theory of Gravity.
A Dutch spiegeltent has entertainment including traditional Christmas panto, comedy, cabaret and live gigs with an indoor roller disco.
A Kid’s Quarter has children’s activities including east London’s acclaimed House of Fairy Tales, plus arts and crafts—and no winter festival is complete without a traditional Santa’s grotto.
“Our ambition is to provide a festive experience for all ages,” organiser Daz Guerin said. “The festive town is programmed to encapsulate the heart of our East End.”
Daz, a key organiser of the Culture 2012 Olympics and the East End’s annual Guy Fawkes firework display, is planning a New Year’s Eve extravaganza as “the mother of all finales”—but is keeping it under wraps for the moment.
Free family activities include a pop-up panto, a twist on the classic Robin Hood story. Fairground attractions include the original ‘Wall Of Death’ with vintage motorcycles and their not-so-vintage riders performing stunts to frighten the crowds. Not for the faint-hearted.
The festival also includes the Gay Bingo Christmas show, a festive edition of Jonny Woo, Horse Meat Disco with a collection of house, punk, funk and more, with Bears On Ice, the legendary Sink The Pink and the all-male Supreme Fabulettes show with Tranny Shack DJs.
Still two months to go, Winterville opens to the public from December 2 to 31, seven days a week, 10am-to-10.30pm, free entry, but some events by ticket that can be bought online in advance.
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