Summer Escape: Young People Take Over Lancaster City Centre

Summer Escape: Young People Take Over Lancaster City Centre

On 23rd August 2025, Lancaster came alive with creativity as young people took over the city to showcase the skills they had nurtured through our Summer Escape Programme.

We delivered an entire summer holiday season of free creative workshops for 11–18-year-olds, giving them safe spaces to meet offline, try something new, and, most importantly, have fun!

A Summer of Creativity

Over the school holidays, 110 young people got the chance to dive into a diverse selection of activities including drama, photography, street band, LGBT quilt making, portrait painting, outdoor woodwork, black history tours, art workshops, wild cooking and green group skills. Daily drop-ins also provided a relaxed environment to experiment with mini artworks, creative writing, karaoke, T-shirt design, air-dry clay crafting and they even got to write their own TV shows!

The Summer Escape Celebration Day

All of this creative energy came together at the Summer Escape Celebration Event. Dalton Square was filled with gazebos, the doors of the E2M Centre on Church Street were thrown open, and the community was warmly welcomed to join us for a joyful day of live performances, workshops and celebration.

One of the most memorable moments wasn’t on the official programme at all, a young boy, simply passing by on his bike, jumped off and joined in by rapping with one of our guest acts. It was a powerful reminder of the inclusive, welcoming culture that E2M works so hard to nurture.

Community Impact

The atmosphere was electric, with proud parents, participants, and passers-by all swept up in the creativity. Hundreds enjoyed our city-wide celebration, and feedback from the day highlighted just how valuable the experience was in connecting the young people with their peers and the community. It was a day for participants and members of the public alike to explore new skills and self-expression:

“Our daughter comes to quite a few of the clubs, she’s been doing the art and drama workshops and signed up for the makers group, it’s just brilliant. It means she can do social creative stuff with peers, and it gets her away from screens and gives her independence.” Parent of Summer Escape Participant

And with the event and all activities free to attend, it was a fully accessible shared experience for all:

“It’s great for the kids and for the parents as well to have something that they can all do, and they don’t have to worry about money for a change. Everything seems to be around how much is it going to cost, and I think that frightens a lot of people.” Member of the Community visiting the event

Grateful Thanks

The Summer Escape programme was only possible thanks to the generous support of the following organisations that share E2M’s vision: Penhale Fund, LANPAC, Police Crime Commission Holiday Fund, Lancaster BID, Areti Trust, and Wilson Trust. Also, fabric sponsorship was provided by Standfast and Barracks, and private donor Rose Anderson.

Reflections from the CEO

Kyle McKenzie, CEO of Escape2Make, reflected on the project:

“We know that 11–18s are a displaced demographic, with the closure of youth centres and safe, offline spaces for them to meet people their own age. There is also a lack of creative opportunities that are accessible to them without cost.

What the Summer Escape curated was those free welcoming, professionally facilitated activities. The programme was designed by our Youth Board, and the impact was a joyful escape for the participants. It was also reassuring for parents to know the young people had a school holiday full of meaningful experiences and opportunities to connect with others.

We were grateful to everyone that got involved, the freelance network that facilitated such high-quality activities, and the community who came along and shared in the celebratory atmosphere on the day. It makes the E2M team and the young people who we engage so proud. We hope our connection with the wider community also acts as a warm invitation to sign up to our ongoing clubs, our drop-in sessions, and become a valued participant or supporter of what we do.”

About Escape2Make

Since its founding in 2018, E2M has been empowering young people to “Make Things, Make Friends, Make a Difference.” This year, we reached another milestone with the opening of our first dedicated centre in February. From high-impact community events to ongoing clubs and outreach work, we continue to create opportunities for young people, particularly those most in need, to feel connected, creative, and valued.

Get Involved

Whether you’re a young person looking to join in, someone interested in volunteering, or a supporter wanting to contribute, the team at E2M would love to hear from you!

Visit www.escape2make.org or email info@escape2make.org to find out more.