Show: 40th Anniversary of the Garden Festival

An archive film show from Ray JohnsonAbout the film
This is a record of the last great reclamation project in the Potteries area through the late 1960s to the 1980s - and one of its great successes.There are three main sections in Ray Johnson's documentary covering the five-year project to create and stage the UK's first National Garden Festival in 1986:A history section taking us through the closing of the Shelton Bar steelworks, the massive reclamation works on the site, the creation of the landscape for the Festival and the planning and running of the Festival itself.
All the key people who made the National Garden Festival happen were interviewed by Ray in producing the programme: Council leaders, landscapers, business planners, site railway and trains providers, aerial cablecar over the site, all horticultural preparations and so on.
We see the official opening of the Festival by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, we have a 'guided tour' of all the areas and features of the site - and see people enjoying all the areas and aspects of the Festival in full swing.It was the most successful of all the Garden Festival events held in the UK in the 1980s and the only "National" Garden Festival.We end with the developing of the site into Festival Park as we know it today.Getting to the museum and access
Find details about how to get to the museum, where to park and the support we can offer to make your visit accessible and enjoyable.Image Description
Small: A hot air balloon with the words National Garden Festival Stoke on Trent 1986
Large: A wide shot of festival park containing a pagoda