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Times of Change

“It’s about more than just chocolate. It’s about how things were and how things are; it’s about looking at how far we’ve come, and how much further we have to go.”

Its March 8th, 2018 and as we celebrate International Women’s Day, Ben Rosenfield from York’s Chocolate Story is talking to us about the attraction’s new 2018 exhibition, Times of Change: Women and Confectionery

“Chocolate is a universally-beloved product that crosses cultural and economic boundaries. We’re here to celebrate York’s unique chocolate stories and confectionery heritage. Our annually-rotating exhibition celebrates this, picking a topic that highlights original areas of the city’s past. This year, we wanted to ‘widen the remit’, so to speak. As 2018 marks 100 years since women first got the vote*, and York has a rich history of female confectionery icons, women and confectionery seemed like the ideal topic.”

Ben Rosenfield poses with some of the new exhibits, including the rare Terry’s Nutcracker mirror (left) and the notorious “Not for girls” Yorkie (in hand).

The exhibition looks into the lives of the women that shaped confectionery, but has wider implications. There are plenty of artefacts that people will recognise, such as the infamous Pink Yorkie and Vintage Quality Street tins. Nestled amongst the well-known brands are some rare and unusual gems…

“…like Terry’s Nutcracker promotional mirror – finding information on this brand proved to be the biggest challenge of all! My personal highlight in putting it all together has been interviewing former factory workers. The richness, diversity and content of their stories has been both eye-opening and humbling. We learned some incredibly interesting facts about life in the factories, not just as a women, but also as part of the wider York community. Key quotes from their testimonies have been placed along our chocolate river, making them a prominent feature”

Quote from a former chocolate factory worker part of the Women in Confectionery display at York’s Chocolate Story.

York’s Chocolate Story were adamant that the exhibition would launch on International Women’s Day (8th March), a challenging deadline, but the team worked hard to get everything ready, including planning an evening event showcasing both the displays and a couple of new installations within the rest of the attraction too.

“We’ve transformed part of the attraction, creating more of a multi-sensory immersive experience to certain rooms, and it looks awesome! The event itself was a grand success. Speeches were made by 4 powerful women: Continuum Attraction’s CEO Juliana Delaney; York Central MP Rachael Maskell; Lord Mayor of York Barbara Boyce and our very own chocolatier, Chelsea Taylor.”

Some of the powerful women attending the opening event including chocolatier Chelsea Taylor; MP Rachael Maskell; Lord Mayor of York Barbara Boyce and CEO Juliana Delaney.

From Mary Tuke – known locally as “the mother of confectionery”- to Mary Ann Craven and her pioneering boiled sweets, York has some of the most wonderful unsung heroes in sweets treats. Their tenacity and perseverance turned them into sheer forces of nature; something that we should all aspire to be.

Times are still changing, and we can’t wait to see what happens next.

Click here to plan your visit to York’s Chocolate Story and check out their exhibition, or for more information about Continuum Attractions and how we bring stories to life check visit our Collaborate page.

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Introducing Star Wars Secrets of The Empire

Continuum Attractions are delighted to announce a partnership with USA- based start-up, The VOID, to bring a Star Wars TM  themed, hyper-reality experiences to the UK, opening in London in December 2017.

Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, the highly anticipated hyper-reality experience produced in collaboration with Lucasfilm and ILMxLAB, will launch at Westfield, London in December and is available for pre-booking at www.thevoid.com.

“The guest experience will blow your mind,’ said Kevin Smith, Group Attractions Director at Continuum Attractions, who recently travelled to The VOID headquarters in Utah.  ‘We expect guests to visit because they love the Star Wars brand and leave having experienced something absolutely brand new.

This is an experience that everyone will be thrilled by. Forget virtual reality or even augmented reality, Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire opens up the new immersive world of hyper-reality with touch, sounds and smells. This will be the must-do event this Christmas and in 2018.”

Continuum Attractions will operate the pop-up experience in  Westfield, Shepherd’s Bush.

Sarah Marsh, Chief Experience Officer of The VOID commented, ‘Continuum Attractions are our trusted operating partners for this exciting new adventure here in the UK. It has been a fast-paced design, build and development of the operation here in London, with a very short lead into the launch of tickets and opening date. Continuum Attractions was able to deliver this for us. There are now plans forming to take the attractions across Europe.’

The VOID is simultaneously opening Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire in Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando Florida.

Continuum Attractions previously operated the Emirates Cable Car in London, an exhibition for EMI and helped develop The Crystal, a Siemens brand attraction in London’s Royal Docks.