A Fitzrovia toy museum and shop is to hold a bigger street fair this month building on the success of last year’s first open air event which attracted hundreds of people.
“Last year’s event gave us such a boost,” says Emily Baker who runs Pollock’s Toy Museum on the corner of Scala Street and Whitfield Street.
The Covid pandemic had badly hit their business with visitors plummeting and putting the future of the historic building and museum in jeopardy.
The museum relies on income from visitors from all over the world to maintain the unique collection of toys and Victorian dolls. It dates back to the 1850s when the printer Benjamin Pollock created the famed toy theatres which have become its hallmark. Since the 1950s it has been an independently run museum with support from the Pollock’s Toy Museum Educational Trust.
The 2021 street event brought in new visitors and generated renewed interest in the museum and shop.
“It was also an opportunity to meet the children and families living in Fitzrovia,” says Jack Tatham-Fawdry the great-grandson of the museum’s founder.
The Pollock’s event reflects the theme of the museum — stepping back into a pre-digital past to explore a world of fun and interest away from screens and electronic gadgets.
This year’s event on Saturday 13 August will extend to nearly the full length of Scala Street and in front of the museum in Whitfield Street, with more street stalls and a greater variety of things to do on offer.
There will be live performances, arts and crafts, circus skills, a tombola, face painting, street games, and much more.
Fitzrovia Fête 2022, Saturday 13 August 2022, from 12noon until 5pm, 1 Scala Street, London, W1T 2HL. Admission to the Fête is free but a £5 donation is suggested to help keep Pollock’s Toy Museum alive and kicking. There is a separate charge to visit the museum. See Pollocks Toy Museum for full details.