Messy Church?

So, we've recently started Messy Church which is around once a month at the moment. But what is it? The Messy Church website gives a description of the concept behind it, but I imagine it varies from place to place. For us we want to bring families together for fun and food with some learning about God stuff flowing through it. Mainly though to build community in our area. One of the feelings that is expressed in our area is concern at lack of community, so how can the church contribute to building it up once again? Initiatives like Messy Church may only be a drop in the ocean - but small steps go a long way if there are enough. Last time we had the mayhem of tent making, with children and parents getting increasingly involved (and competitive about their tents!)