Our 50th anniversary events

2011 is a special year for us – the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Friends of Richmond Park.  Friends are invited to two celebratory events:

A tour of the Royal Ballet School

On the afternoon of Thursday 19th May there will be a tour of the Royal Ballet School at White Lodge in Richmond Park. It is here, at the Lower School, that the students begin their full time vocational training.

This event will comprise a tour of the School, the opportunity to watch a 45-minute ballet class in the theatre, and tea in the Salon. Unfortunately places are limited and no children aged 8 or younger can join this event. Car parking will be available at White Lodge.

Members' summer tea party

On the afternoon of Wednesday 29th June there will be a Members’ summer tea party at Pembroke Lodge.

This will be a celebration of 50 years of activity and campaigning by the Friends including a presentation highlighting the main achievements. There will also be a fascinating display featuring aspects of the history of the Friends with hundreds of documents, photographs and memorabilia. To accompany this, the Friends’ historian Mary Pollard has written a history of the FRP and this will be published in booklet form.

There will be two sittings of the tea party (at 4pm and 6pm): those with children will probably prefer the first sitting when special children’s activities will take place. To cover costs there is a £10 charge for each person (over age 8) attending this event.

Ticket applications

Our thanks to everyone who applied for places at these events. The deadline for applications was 14th February.

The Royal Ballet School event was very over-subscribed. The 29th June members' summer tea party second sitting (6 to 8pm) was fully subscribed and the first sitting (4 to 6pm) under-subscribed. We are now processing all applications and will be arranging a ballot for places at the Royal Ballet School visit. We will contact applicants to let them know the outcome.