Each week the Palace’s Creative Learning programme offers dozens of workshops and events aimed at helping people to gain new skills, explore their creativity and improve their well-being. The programme is at the heart of our charity’s commitment to our community.

This January our team launch Café Palais, a free 1920s themed café for older people, people living with dementia and their carers.

Ally Pally Creative Learning Producer, Jen Blackwood, explains more.

We’re really looking forward to Café Palais launching this month. It will be a space for older people and vulnerable adults to make new friends, try something new and take part in a really diverse range of activities. Hopefully it will open people up to creative arts and performances that they may not have experienced before, or for a while, and will give them a chance to get dressed up and have something fun and different in their calendars to look forward to. Importantly, as it is a café, there will also be a range of delicious refreshments served up too!

There will be a different activity every month. We will get feedback from participants to find out what they enjoyed and what they would like us to programme in the future, making sure that there is something for everyone on offer. So far we’ve got pottery-making, burlesque and cabaret shows, dancing and jazz concerts planned.

First up though, professional life drawing artist and painter Quentin Martin will be providing a class looking at basic skills and techniques. Those taking part can learn how to draw life models with pencils, chalk and charcoal. We’ll also be offering up prizes for those taking part.

Cafe Palais has been created through the need to reduce loneliness amongst the older community. During the pandemic our Wellness Café unfortunately could no longer happen due to the restrictions on travel and gatherings, particularly for vulnerable people. Due to the current cost of living crisis and the fact that many people are struggling, we felt it vital to revive the café and offer a free space for people to get together and be creative.

The Café will bring the glitz and glamour of the 1920’s back to Ally Pally and we’re really looking forward to transforming our Wellness Centre, housed in the Palace’s Transmitter Hall, into a decadent Parisian Cabaret club!

If Café Palais sounds like something you, or someone you know, would like to get involved in then please come along – it’s more the merrier.

The Palace’s Creative Learning programme supports young carers, people looking to develop a career in the arts, older people and local schools, amongst others, through a range of activities that take inspiration from Ally Pally’s amazing history, events and spaces.

Café Palais takes place on the last Monday of every month, 2-4pm, starting from Monday 30 January.