September and October have seen a flurry of Fun Palaces activity here at Eden Court. Read on for an autumn update from Ruari, our Fun Palaces Ambassador!

At the start of September, we kicked off our autumn activity by hosting Fun Palaces staff and ambassadors from across the UK at our quarterly Action Research Meeting. Eden Court was the ideal inspirational setting for this event and we had lots of productive discussions about how we can support communities everywhere to build their own cultural landscapes.

Later that month, we held our third monthly Fun Palaces Café, where we welcomed visitors and staff alike to try their hand at designing or building their own versions of a Fun Palace. It was also a great opportunity to hear about the skills they could share and what they'd like to learn from others.

We also hosted a bonus Fun Palaces Café as part of the Fun Palaces Weekend of Celebration. We welcomed Trish from Clachworks, who shared her expertise in crocheting and embroidery. Lucy, our esteemed Head of Engagement, was also on hand to offer a lesson in pom-pom making, while our #creativeriots table welcomed folk to make their own plasticine characters and placards to demonstrate outside the 'town hall'.

Further down the river, Inverness Botanic Gardens hosted a series of Fun Palaces this autumn, where visitors could try their hand at apple pressing. These workshops will continue to take place every Saturday and Sunday until the end of October, so there's still time to pop along and press your own fresh apple juice!

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be developing new Fun Palaces workshops looking at Cultural Democracy and what that means for communities across the Highlands and Islands.

Our next Fun Palaces Café will be held on Wed 30 Nov in the Eden Court Café. Please do come and join us for some coffee, cake and a blether about all things Fun Palaces. You can also keep an eye on the Eden Court Fun Palaces page for details of future Fun Palaces events.

As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts. So, if you have anything to add, ask or suggest, feel free to get in touch by emailing funpalaces@eden-court.co.uk. You can also find out more about the work we’re doing on the Fun Palaces website.