United by Cake – Strawberry Field is holding a Ukrainian tea party this week

Strawberry Field is holding a Ukrainian tea party this week to bring together Liverpool and Ukrainian communities for Eurovision and has enlisted the support of Scouse Bake Off contestant Lizzie Acker to host the free event.

A Peace of Cake is happening on Thursday May 11 at 10.30am at Strawberry Field, when bakers are invited to bring along their cakes – inspired by Ukraine if possible – and share them.

Non-bakers are also welcome to go along and just join in the eating because Liverpool’s hosting of Eurovision is all about making everyone feel welcome.

Lizzie, who’s already been a part of the Eurovision build-up on the family stage at the Pier Head Euro Village, is an ambassador of Strawberry Field’s Steps to Work programme which works with young people with barriers to employment.

She’ll be checking out everyone’s sweet treats through the morning, although there’s no judging so no need to worry about soggy bottoms.

“There’ll be members of the Ukrainian community here, Lizzie will be here, and lots of people bringing along bakes to share and connect,” says Martha Hawkins from Strawberry Field. “Everyone is welcome to turn up with or without a bake, and we’ll have a donation box for a Ukrainian charity.

“We’ve been doing a lot of work with the Ukrainian community based in the city, hosting meetings so people have a space to meet, so with Eurovision coming to Liverpool we wanted to find different ways to get involved.

“People are united by food as well as music so what better way to bring people together to celebrate Ukrainian culture and traditions, hope and peace than with cake?”

Peace of Cake is part of a programme of free Eurovision-linked things to do and see at Strawberry Field in the run-up to the final on Saturday.

Members of the Ukrainian community have been sharing traditional recipes with chefs at the Imagine More Café so it currently has Ukrainian dishes on its menu including authentic borscht. There are a few dishes paying homage to Eurovision hits too, such as Baba Kalush Orchestra, Chilli Jam-ala and Save Your Kisses for Brie!

On Wednesday May 10 at 10.30am, the 100 Voices United Choir, which recently welcomed King Charles and Queen Camilla during their visit to Central Library, will be joined by the Ukrainian Children’s Choir to perform as part of the EuroLearn music sessions. The 100 Voices United Choir, made up of 100 pupils representing secondary schools across the city, will be singing well-known songs along with the music of Ukraine.

All week, Strawberry Field will host a series of Imagine Peace activities, organised and supported by churches around Liverpool. There’ll be music, chat, poetry, meditation, labyrinth walks in the gardens, crafts and a pop-up non-alcoholic pub, the Hope & Anchor, in a tipi next to the labyrinth.

It’s also a chance for people to see the newly-unveiled Ukrainian Peace Monument, which is in the grounds, and the Strawberry Field Bandstand featuring an Imagine mosaic echoing the one in New York’s Central Park as a tribute to John Lennon, as well as original artwork from artist James Wilkinson. 

Check out the website here.