A GIANT day out is promised to The Lexicon’s visitors over the next 10 days thanks to a summer holiday spectacular.
The Bracknell-based shopping centre has launched Bracknell Forest Giants – three ginormous interactive exhibits aimed at celebrating what gives our neighbour its name: trees.
Running through to August Bank Holiday, Monday, August 30, there will be special events every day including storytelling, theatres, street entertainment and roaming trees.
The centrepiece is the three giant sculptures, offering different takes on the natural world, and interactive in their own way.
Outside Bill’s restaurant is Wise Woodland, a 6.5m sculpture that is the guardian of the forest’s history.
Close to Marks & Spencer is Lady Greenwood, The Lexicon’s Mother Earth, looking after the smallest insect to the largest tree.
The third giant is Little Acorn, located above The Entertainer, a playful young sapling, who organisers say encourage forest adventures and fun.
While there are giant trees roaming through The Lexicon, it’s possible for visitors to turn themselves into virtual tree giants using special QR codes and smartphones.
And it’s possible to buy tickets for a storytelling show at The Forest Friends Den, hosted by Old Brack the Badger and Bright-Tail the Fox.
Visitors can also follow a giant footsteps trail, created by the community. Entries could win a giant prize, in the form of a £1,000 Forest Holiday gift voucher.
In Princess Square, a series of short videos will be screened highlighting how people can help preserve the forest for future generations, get involved through programmes such as the Bracknell Forest Guardian scheme, and see how the unique giants were made.
At the unveiling on Thursday, Timothy Wheadon, chief executive at Bracknell Forest Council, said the team were satisfied and feeling good about their achievement.
“Today is the culmination of a lot of hard work over many months by a lot of people,” he said. “There’s a sense of anticipation about what the next 10 days will bring, and a sense of pride in what we’ve achieved.
“There is also a sense of ambition for what we want to achieve in the future.”
Mr Wheadon had enjoyed walking around The Lexicon and seeing visitors interact with the trees and the entertainers, praising the festival atmosphere.
“That’s what we wanted with the performers, the giants and the storytellers. There will be more of that over the course of the next 10 days.”
This autumn sees the fourth anniversary of The Lexicon, but for much of the past 18 months it has not been the town centre that people had been used to. Mr Wheadon feels that the Bracknell Forest Giants is a chance to restate the vision for the centre, which is a mixture of shopping, dining and leisure activities.
“2017 was a fantastic start, but it’s not the end of the project,” he said. “We’re no different from the challenges the world has faced in the past 18 months, but this is our opportunity to reinvigorate the town, reenergise it, and welcome people with a real attraction, an attraction with scale and ambition that people will want to come from the surrounding areas to participate in.
“People from everywhere, particularly Wokingham, will be welcome to come.”
And Rob Morris, The Lexicon’s general manager, was just as pleased with the way the project has turned out.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “The Bracknell Forest Giants event is absolutely a factor in people coming back to Bracknell.
“The town is full of wonderful things, not just shops, and this type of event just adds another layer of excitement into it.”
He was particularly pleased with the creatures from the woodland realm, saying they are amazing, and it was hard to pick a favourite.
“I think people have got to come along, see what’s here and make their own judgments.”
The centre is now fully reopened and while covid measures have been relaxed, Mr Morris wants shoppers to carry on being careful.
“We still encourage people to be sensible and shop safely when they visit The Lexicon,” he said. “Hopefully if we keep doing the right things, things will start to get better and better.”
The Bracknell Forest Giants is more than just an interactive display and entertainment. The council and The Lexicon are launching a new Forest Guardian scheme with primary school children when they return in the autumn. It will help pupils learn about the forest and encourage tree planting.
“Our forest and green spaces, which represent almost 40% of the borough’s landscape*, are so instrumental in making our borough such a special place to live and work,” says Stephen Chown, head of parks and countryside at Bracknell Forest Council.
“We hope that this celebration and education campaign will encourage more people to benefit from and get involved with this fantastic natural resource.”
For more information visit Bracknellforestgiants.com and follow #BracknellForestGiants on social media.
