On The Scene // Flyover Fest, Liverpool – 13/07/2014

It was a sunny day, the sky was smiling somewhat inappropriately on our sun starved land and we decided to go for a walk on the flyover. Hang on, you might say, you can’t walk on the flyover. Well, you’d be right except that on this day it was closed to traffic so we could all celebrate the wonderful event that was Flyover Fest.

Yes, the demolition threatened Winston Churchill Way behind the iconic Central Library in Liverpool turned from a route from A to B to a pedestrian full celebration of the local creative scene. As we approached we could sense the positive energy already, as well as smell what we would soon discover to be rather tasty pizza.  Sat on a recycled wire spindle with a smiley face painted on it using a barrel as a table for said pizza, we sat back and had only good thoughts as a Lego headed being sped past on a bicycle, pirates sang seas shanties to the passersby and a mobile disco gave us some classic beats.

Other attractions included the ever entertaining Lemon Collective, with their eponymous caravan housing face painting and a sighting of the very friendly Lemon Head, busking slots from She Drew The Gun (with her ever excellent sign),  We The Undersigned, Dominic Dunn, and more besides and some rather lovable owls on the lower section of the flyover. Needless to say, the mood was excellent and views of the defining Liverpool skyline were excellent. If the idea of a festival on a flyover seemed odd at first, then this very positive happening confirmed that the innovative creative spirit of Liverpool is still very much alive. (If, indeed, anyone doubted the fact to begin with!)

But perhaps the best aspect of the whole day was seeing familiar faces from the vast creative scene of the city lighting up a normally very uninteresting space. It goes to show that with the power of people, interest and sheer good fun much more can be achieved than what occurs behind corporate doors. Let’s hope that the proposals to turn this space into an urban park full of life and happiness come to fruition because let’s face it, who doesn’t love a new space to hang out drinking fresh coffee, reading a great book in the sunshine or even just being there in a wonderful green space?

Suffice to say our Friends of the Flyover badge is safely on! Make sure to check out the website as well to see how you can support the project!

(S. Gahan)