The cathedral city of St Albans will be taken over by Creepers, Endermans and Mobs during a free family street festival in June, which will see the city transformed into a world on Minecraft.

The Alban Street Festival on 19 June will be hosting what is thought to be the UK's first street Minecraft Hackathon, which will see the cathedral city – originally the Roman town of Verulamium – and some of its historic buildings that date back over 2,000 years brought together in a Minecraft World by new digital network Silicon Abbey.

Kids of all ages will be able to create their own Skins and team up with other players to recreate St Albans on Minecraft during 30-minute slots on 15 PCs that will be set up in the city centre's Silicon Abbey zone as part of the summer's Alban Street Festival.

As well as the Minecraft Hackathon, during this one-day Alban Street Festival, there will be a whole host of mini versions of festivals that take place in the city throughout the year. 

These include:

• Screen on the Sand with St Albans Film Festival and Godfrey's Fish and Chips will give festival goers the chance to feel sand between their toes in the city as a beach completed with a beach bar and deckchairs will be created outside the city's 19th-century town hall with a giant screen showing specially curated films;
• Story-telling and mini performances in the family tent in association with the St Albans Literary Festival;
• A Sporting Arena that will embrace the sporting events of the summer including Euro 2016 and the Rio Olympics with inflatable football, cheerleading lessons and American football all set to the background of music provided by a samba band;
• #VintryVillage shopping area in association with the annual European-inspired St Albans Christmas Market;
• Food and drink stalls in association with the St Albans and Harpenden Food & Drink Festival;
• Pop-up open studios in association with the Hertfordshire Visual Arts;
• A mass Ceilidh with the St Albans Folk Festival;
• Pop-up performances from the St Albans Shakespeare Festival.

The Alban Street Festival follows on from the Alban Pilgrimage on 18 June, which retells the story of Britain's first saint, Alban, with a gory re-enactment of his last few hours – sure to delight bloodthirsty children and adults alike.  

The city and its park come alive with a carnival spirit during the Alban Pilgrimage with enormous carnival puppets, Roman chariots, children dressed as centurions, lions, roses and executioners - all parading through the streets of the city, finishing outside the cathedral where Alban is "executed" and the eyes of the executioner "pop out" in front of thousands of people. 

– ENDS –

Media contact:

Angie Cronin

Loudbird PR and Communications
Tel: 07970 810302
www.loudbird.co.uk
Follow us on:www.twitter.com/loudbirdPR

St Albans – fascinating facts, old and new

• St Albans is named after Britain's first Saint - Alban - and the Cathedral is the oldest place of continual Christian worship in the UK - and has the longest nave of any Cathedral, including St Paul's and Westminster Abbey.
• St Albans has the only medieval clock tower in the country. 
• St Albans has the oldest public school in Britain where Pope Adrian IV, the only Englishman to occupy the papal chair, and scientist Stephen Hawking were educated.
• The Roman city of Verulamium (now the site of St Albans' Verulamium park) was burned and destroyed by Queen Boudicca and her army (St Albans) in AD60
• St Albans' pub Ye Olde Fighting Cocks is in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest pub in the country.
• St Albans Abbey (now Cathedral) was at one time the principal Abbey in England and was the location of the first meeting (in 1213) which ultimately led to the sealing of the Magna Carta (in 1215).
• World-famous heavy rock group Enter Shakari are from St Albans, and still play the odd gig in the city.
• St Albans has more pubs per square mile than any other town in the country.
• Legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick lived and worked in the area and produced The Shining here.