In the news: Family Fun Day at East Square

To celebrate the opening of Vue at Basildon's East Square an exciting Family Fun Day has been organised in the town centre.

The free event will take place on Friday 2 August between 11am - 4pm where visitors will experience various activities around the town centre and inside the new Vue.

The event will include character meet and greets with Bluey, Minions and giant dinosaur with a T-rex and Velociraptor, dino story time, roaming rangers with surprises in hand, face painting, balloon modelling, a circus skills workshop and the chance to get involved in a community window colouring in event with local artists. With several character visits throughout the day you won't want to miss out.

At Vue, visitors to the event will also have the chance to see family stories which have been specially arranged for the event and will be free to attend so you can try out the luxurious seating including The Recliner, along with the laser projection screens, giving brighter images to Get Lost in Great Stories with.

As part of Vue's Big Shorts content, designed for pre-school children, an exclusive preview screening of Bluey will take place at 10:00, which will be a compilation of eight of the much-loved TV episodes from all three seasons. The audience may also see the star of the show stop by to say hello.

There will also be a Mighty Mornings screening, Vue's great value family morning film sessions of blockbuster IF at 12.30pm and Spiderman will be back on the big screen where it belongs at 1pm.

Gaming and Racing fans will also have the chance to test out a McLaren simulator which will be connected to one of the venue's big screens, brought to you by Coca Cola. Visitors can attempt to beat the pro by competing against one of McLaren's E sport champions who will set a lap time for them to beat.

Vue has brought the Ultimate Seat, Screen and Sound experience to Basildon. Each of the ten screens feature stadium-tiered, luxury leather seating alongside Vue's Recliner seats, high definition 4K screens, Laser Digital projection systems and Dolby Atmos multi-dimensional sound in selected screens.

Tickets will be available on a first come first basis and will be available to book  via the Vue website.

Toby Bradon, Vue's UK&I Territory General Manager, said: "We are delighted to be part of this wonderful event organised by Basildon Council to welcome Vue to the town.

"It is set to be a fantastic day for families with lots of free activities available both inside and outside Vue to keep everyone entertained during the holidays. We are pleased to bring great family films to the big screen as part of the event which will be free to attend and give visitors the opportunity to enjoy the big screen experience at Vue.

"We look forward to welcoming customers to our new venue and becoming part of the Basildon community."

Owen Sparks, Executive Director of Resources said: "It is such great news to see Vue open. It is set to be a fantastic leisure facility for the Basildon community.

"To mark its arrival we are pleased to host a free family fun day for locals to enjoy with lots of activities to participate in. It is set to be a wonderful day and I would like to thank Vue and Eastgate Shopping Centre for their support in making it happen."

There are also adventures to be had at Eastgate Shopping Centre which include giveaways, 1995 Jurassic Jeep, plush stall, meet & greet dinosaurs and even some Olympic activity with an in-centre Badminton Court!

Centre Director, Lee Spencer, said this about the event: "It's fantastic to be a part of the Family Fun Day event, people in the local community have really been looking forward to the opening of Vue and it's great to celebrate another form of investment in Basildon Town Centres future."

Vue Basildon officially opened its doors on Thursday 25 July at 9.30am.

The Family Fun Day activities runs from 11am through to 4pm and are free to attend. The events taking place at Vue must be booked in advance.

Visit https://www.basildon.gov.uk/events for further details including exact timings for the day.

Ends

Notes to editors

East Square is a centrally located outdoor entertainment complex in Basildon town centre. The complex includes a Nando's, Kaspa's Desserts parlour and Orleto Lounge, and is conveniently located near Eastgate Shopping Centre and other town centre shops.

Published 26 July 2024