Visitors to the Eden Project this Easter can indulge themselves in a “Have your cake and eat it” party - and then skate off the calories.

Cake is the theme of the season. The confection of family fun is centred on a big, candy-striped festival marquee outside Eden’s famous Biomes, with giant flags decorated with cupcakes around the garden.

Inside the tent will be a fantasy sweet shop where children can create their own cup cakes with icings and toppings of their choice.

Everyone can take part in a cake-making challenge by adding healthy ingredients to a big bowl, mixing it up and then layering on the topping. Eden’s chefs will then take it away for baking, returning the finished cake in the afternoon so the many bakers can enjoy a slice.

No tea party would be complete without a cuppa – and the tea is being supplied by Tregothnan near Truro, the first estate tea grown in England.

There will be “giant egg decorating” where visitors can paint their own designs on egg-shaped balloons which will then be used to decorate the marquee. To add to the party atmosphere there will be stilt walkers, clowns, giant puppetry, a Punch and Judy show, hoopla, a coconut shy, Easter-themed face painting and stalls selling locally produced food.

A short walk from the marquee is the Eden ice rink, with the surrounds now being re-dressed with a spring-time theme. Because it has proved so popular this year, it will remain open until April 20.

Emma-Jane Rothwell, Programme Production Administrator, said: “Producing and eating good food is one of our themes at Eden and getting everyone to mix a big cake together is a fun way of exploring this.

“The ingredients will include bananas similar to the ones we grow in the Rainforest Biome and free-range eggs from our local suppliers. Everyone can have a go at mixing and the children will love creating and eating their own cupcakes.

“The ice-rink is another great way for families to have fun and exercise together – especially good if they have over-indulged in the cake!”

The Easter activities open at Eden on Thursday March 20. All activities are included in the Eden entrance fee apart from ice-skating which is £4, face-painting from £2.50 and the cup cakes for decorating. The number to call to book skating is 01726 811972.

The Easter activities coincide with Eden’s acclaimed Bulb Mania season. More than a million bulbs have been planted and many varieties of daffodils and tulips can be seen during spring.

Notes:

Eden Project Limited is owned by the Eden Trust, which is a fully registered UK Charity (No. 1093070).

Eden is home to the two biggest greenhouses in the world – the Rainforest Biome and Mediterranean Biome.

Around 1.2 million visitors come to Eden per year and it has generated £800 million for the local economy.

So far capital funding of £135 million to develop Eden has been raised from a combination of £58 million from the Millennium Commission Lottery Fund, £50 million in regional grants from the South West Regional Development Agency and Objective One European Regional Development Fund, and £27 million in the form of loans, lease finance and Eden's own revenue generation.

Immediate information may be obtained from our website: www.edenproject.com.

For more information:
Jess Ratty
Communications Officer
jratty@edenproject.com
01726 811941
07815 808181

David Rowe
Head of Press and PR
drowe@edenproject.com
01726 811901
07813 041923