Makers’ Toolkit
Everything you need to make a Fun Palace – wherever you’re starting from. Pick the door that sounds most like you.
Not sure yet?
Thinking about it?
Curious, but not sure what a Fun Palace is, or whether you could make one? Start here – no experience needed. (Promise.)
Brand new Maker
Making your first Fun Palace
Decided to give it a go? Brilliant. Here’s the whole thing in eight friendly steps, with just what you need at each one.
Returning Maker
Already know what you need?
Welcome back. Skip the explaining – here are the forms, templates and downloads Makers come back for every year.
New this year
- The Weekend of Action is 1-3 October 2027. Make yours that weekend to be part of something big happening everywhere at once – or pick any date that works for you.
- Resources, sorted. Our Resources page is now organised by what you need – money, access, publicity, safety and more – so you can find things in seconds.
- Activity ideas, all in one place. Over 50 tried-and-tested ideas from Makers, most with a printable how-to sheet.
Thinking about it?
A Fun Palace is a free event made by local people, for their own community. Someone shares something they love – a skill, a hobby, a passion – and invites their neighbours to try it too. Simple and fun and can be whatever you want it to be!
A Fun Palace in 30 seconds
“We are not events organisers, we are people who love community.”
Brockwell Lido Fun Palace Makers, 2014
Free
Always free to take part.
Local
Made by and for your community.
Any size
Three people or three hundred.
Any time
15 minutes or a whole weekend.
Big, tiny or online – it’s up to you
There are many ways to make a Fun Palace. Pick whichever suits you, your community and your energy right now.
Open to everyone
In your community
In a library, park, hall, café, garden or street – anywhere people can drop in and join you.
Just for you
Tiny Fun Palaces
Just you and a few friends, neighbours or family. Mark it as Tiny when you put it on the map and you don’t need to add your address – the pin shows your nearest town.
From anywhere
Online Fun Palaces
Any digital format you like – a video call, a writing collab in a Google Doc, community voice notes, even a Fun Palace built on a Minecraft server. Perfect if getting out and about is tricky.
It could be as simple as…
- a board games afternoon at the local pub
- pom-poms hung on a garden railing for neighbours to take
- a Grease sing-along in a church hall
- a library handing its space over to the community for the day
- a seed swap, a bug hotel build or a 15-minute online chat
Absolutely anyone can make one – here’s what a Fun Palace is (and what it isn’t). Stuck for ideas? Browse over 50 activity ideas from other Makers.
Your next step
Making your first Fun Palace
Eight steps from idea to the big day. You don’t need to do them in order, and you definitely don’t need to do them alone.
1
Find your people
Friends, neighbours, colleagues, a local group. You can do it alone, but it is more fun together.
2
Pick your thing
What do you love doing? Baking, coding, knitting, football, poetry – everyone has something to share.
3
Find a place
A library, a park, a front garden, a living room, or online. A Fun Palace can happen anywhere.
4
Choose a date
Join the Weekend of Action, 1-3 October 2027, or pick any time that suits you and your community.
5
Put it on the map
Sign up so people can find you, and so you’re part of the movement. Making a Tiny Fun Palace just for you and a few friends? Mark it as Tiny and you don’t need to add your address – the pin just shows your nearest town.
6
Spread the word
Posters, social posts, a press release, an invite for your local councillor or MP.
7
Make it welcoming and safe
Think about access, a simple risk assessment and insurance – all far easier than it sounds.
8
Enjoy it – then tell us!
Have a brilliant time, take photos (with consent), and share your story with us afterwards.
Already know what you need?
Welcome back, Maker. Here are the things people come back for every year – straight to the download, no digging.
- Posters and logos
- Publicity Toolkit – templates, press tips and social media
- Template press release (Word)
- Invitation for your MP, councillor, MS or MSP (Word)
- Risk assessment template (Word)
- Media consent form (Word)
- Funding your Fun Palace (PDF)
- Share your story for the annual film
- Look after yourself – how to make it without burning out
Looking for something else? Everything is on the Resources page, sorted by what you need.
Meet other Makers
Join the Maker Network
A space for people who make Fun Palaces to meet, share how they do it and have more say in where the campaign goes next. Some places are paid for freelancers and volunteers.
Every Friday
Get the weekly newsletter
A short email with practical tips for Makers, stories from communities and what’s coming up. Three to five minutes to read.
How-to library
Maker Know-How
Practical guides from Makers and the team: funding, access, publicity, last-minute and Tiny Fun Palaces, and more.
Last year, together we made
146
Fun Palaces
1,729
Makers
25,580
people taking part
“I’ve lived here 17 years and I’ve never felt in my life totally part of any community and now I do.”
Brockwell Lido Fun Palace Maker, 2014
Prefer to talk it through?
Fancy a friendly chat with one of the team? Drop us an email and we’ll find a time to talk. Whether you’ve got a half-formed idea or a very specific question, we’d love to hear from you – no question is too small.
Or call 0208 692 4446 (ext 203) and leave a message, or email hello@funpalaces.co.uk. The team are part time, so we might not reply straight away – but we will reply.