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Bristol University of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Press release issued: 6 October 2017

Bristolians still waiting in hope of a letter-bearing owl are in luck, as this Saturday [7 October] the University of Bristol will host an open day of magical proportions in the Wills Memorial Building.

All are invited (muggles included) to indulge their curiosity through a broad variety of activities, from wand making and spell writing, to chatting with a ghost or pitting your wit against a witch.  

The fun and interactive ‘magic’ taster classes are run by Arts and Humanities PhD students and will give a glimpse into the research happening within the University’s South West Doctoral Training Partnership (ESRC).  

The event, from 11am to 4pm, forms part of a Fun Palace weekend being hosted by the University of Bristol’s Elizabeth Blackwell Institute to launch Healthy City Week. 

The public are invited to a diverse range of activities throughout the weekend, including portrait making on a moving train, customising YoBikes with health research and covering the Bristol Ferry in pom poms featuring health advice.

Fun Palaces is a global campaign to encourage community-led arts and science activities. Bristol now has its own Fun Palace ambassador, Ellie Shipman, whose role is to encourage more locally-led Fun Palaces and to initiate new collaborations between health researchers and Bristol communities. 

She said: “Taking part in a Fun Palace is an amazing opportunity to share your skills, find out more about your city and this year, learn about health with researchers and your neighbours through coming together and having fun.” 

The University of Bristol is the only university to have been chosen by the Wellcome Trust to run one of the five UK Fun Palace hubs. 

Essential information

  • See the programme for the Bristol University of Witchcraft and Wizardry here
  • Find out the latest #funpalacesbristol news on Twitter @Fun_Bristol
  • See the map of University of Bristol supported Fun Palaces here 

Further information

About Fun Palaces in Bristol

Fun Palaces is an ongoing campaign for culture at the heart of community and community at the heart of culture, with an annual weekend of action every October. Since 2014 there have been over 572 Fun Palaces worldwide, created by, for and with local communities. These free, hands-on arts, science, craft, tech and digital events celebrate the passions of local people and are now in Bristol.

Elizabeth Blackwell Institute became part of the Fun Palaces campaign in 2016 through hosting one of five UK Fun Palace ambassadors. The ambassadorship programme enables a lead, in Bristol, Ellie Shipman, to encourage more locally-led Fun Palaces and initiate new collaborations between health researchers and Bristol communities.

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