Pop-up youth space offering summer activities

A pop-up youth space has returned to Lincolnshire with a programme of free activities for the summer holidays.

The Zone offers workshops and creative activities for 11 to 18-year-olds in Lincoln, and it will also be visiting Gainsborough and Spalding during August.

A mobile version of The Zone will tour estates in Lincoln between 3 August and 4 September.

Toby Ealden, artistic director at Zest Theatre, the theatre that runs the project, said it provided young people with "places to go and more things to do".

"[The project] came directly from young people telling us they needed more places to go, more things to do, and more spaces where they could feel welcome, safe and completely themselves," Ealden said.

The Zone Go mobile van has inflatable spaces that pop up around it, with access to board games and craft kits, cameras, musical instruments and a gaming station.

This year the project has partnered with City of Lincoln Council.

"Their support means thousands of young people across Lincoln will be able to access purpose-built spaces created with them in mind – not only for arts and culture but for joy, connection, confidence and simply having somewhere brilliant to be during the summer holidays," Ealden said.

The Zone is at Lincoln City Square from Tuesdays to Saturdays until 15 August. It will be in Gainsborough between 19 and 22 August and in Spalding between 25 and 29 August.

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