Activities across the park as centenary approaches
Blackpool’s Stanley Park will host a full week of activities for Love Parks Week, running from Monday 27 July to Friday 31 July, in the lead-up to the much-loved green space marking its 100th anniversary in October. The programme mixes guided walks, heritage-themed sessions and practical workshops, using locations around the park — from the Italian Gardens to the bandstand and sports areas — to encourage people to explore and enjoy the site.
Organised by the Parks Team with support from community partners, the week opens with orienteering and a heritage walk, and progresses through themed days spotlighting local services and volunteers, traditional games, arts and crafts, litter picking and sport. Blackpool Libraries, Active Blackpool and local volunteers are among those contributing to the line-up.
Day-by-day: what’s on
The council has outlined the following highlights across the week:
| Date | Focus | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 27 July | Explore the park | Pick up maps for one of five orienteering walks or join a heritage walk. Blackpool Libraries will host an outdoor storytelling session. |
| Tue 28 July | Local heroes | Meet blue light responders and green space volunteers in the Italian Gardens. Active Blackpool will be on hand with a ‘Bike Doctor’ to offer fixes and tips. |
| Wed 29 July | Traditional games | Join the Friends of Stanley Park for games enjoyed across the park’s last 100 years. |
| Thu 30 July | Creative and clean-up | Free landscape painting and crochet workshops. For those keen to pitch in, join a litter picking walk with Enveco NW. Salsa dancing is also on offer. |
| Fri 31 July | Sport and taster sessions | Try out activities around the park — from athletics to tennis with Active Blackpool — and visit the Cricket Club in the afternoon for a taster session. |
What residents can expect
Each day offers different ways to engage with the park’s landscape, history and facilities. The opening day’s orienteering walks are intended to help people discover routes across the grounds, while the heritage walk provides context to the park’s design and development ahead of the centenary. The Italian Gardens will serve as a hub on the second day for meeting emergency services and volunteers who support Blackpool’s green spaces. Mid-week, the Friends group will revive traditional pastimes that would have been familiar to generations of park users.
Thursday shifts the emphasis to creativity and community stewardship. The landscape painting and crochet sessions are billed as free, and sit alongside opportunities to help with litter picking led by Enveco NW, the council’s environmental services partner. The week rounds off with a mix of sport and physical activity, with Active Blackpool showcasing what is available across the park before a taster session at the Cricket Club in the afternoon.
Why Love Parks Week matters locally
The programme is timed a few months before the park’s 100th year, providing a build-up to celebrations later in the year. For Blackpool residents, it offers low-cost ways to make use of public space during the summer, with options that cut across ages and interests — from families and casual walkers to hobbyists and those wanting to be more active. Highlighting local responders and volunteers also underlines the role of civic services and community groups in maintaining the borough’s green assets.
While the council’s outline does not include timings or booking requirements, the spread of locations — including the bandstand, Italian Gardens and sports areas — suggests activities will be spread across the park to encourage visitors to move between sites. Participants planning to take part in multiple sessions may wish to allow for travel between locations within the park grounds.
Useful pointers
- Start date: Monday 27 July, with events each day through Friday 31 July.
- Locations: Activities across Stanley Park, including the Italian Gardens and sports facilities; the Cricket Club hosts a taster on Friday afternoon.
- Free elements: The Thursday landscape painting and crochet workshops are described as free.
As the park approaches its centenary in October, the week’s mix of heritage, creativity and sport places attention on a landmark green space that remains central to Blackpool’s civic life.
