A very special community festival
The Thamesmead Festival is a joyous explosion of creativity and fun for the whole family, writes Adriana Marques, our Head of Cultural Strategy.
Published: 06/08/2024
There is much being written and reported on right now about the role culture plays in creating vibrant, resilient and cohesive places, including the Chair of Arts Council England Nick Serota’s recent call for revitalised communities, with culture and creativity at their heart.
Against this backdrop, final preparations are underway for the free family-friendly Thamesmead Festival taking place this Saturday (10 August) at Southmere Park. With a jam-packed programme of music, dance, comedy and poetry across four stages, as well as art installations and a variety of food and craft stalls, it’s the latest incarnation of the annual event which started life as the Thamesmead Town Show more than 50 years ago. We first revived the festival in 2017 after listening to residents, and learning about Thamesmead’s rich heritage. Then, as now, the festival celebrates the diverse communities and talents of this unique town.
Culture helps people love where they live. That is why we are working to make culture a part of everyday life in Thamesmead. It’s one of five approaches we’re taking to improve, grow and look after the town for the long term. This means building on Thamesmead’s creative spirit by investing in cultural spaces and buildings, supporting individual creatives and grassroots organisations, and commissioning original events and projects that put Thamesmead on the map.
The Thamesmead Festival is our flagship community event which places homegrown talent front and centre. Hailed as ‘London’s most unique festival‘ by Time Out, its uniqueness is rooted in how the event is put together. It is wholly led and programmed by a group of 14 dedicated local residents — the Festival Production Group (FPG) — who work year round on planning the event, supported by live music specialist Serious and other partners. The festival doesn’t just showcase our investment in culture, it also celebrates our commitment to co-production and collaboration with the community.
In the seven years since the Festival was revived, footfall has increased from 1,000 attendees in 2017 to 8,000 last year, and the programme has grown from strength to strength thanks to the dedication and ambition of the FPG and our partners. This year the headline act will see local legend Kele Le Roc perform with R&B and Soul singer Terri Walker for the very first time. In the community-centred spirit of the event, the duo will welcome on stage Jerusha Frimpong, a Thamesmead-born Soul and R&B artist and former contestant on ITV’s The Voice.
There will again be the youth stage, Wanderlust Hill, created by local teenagers, and the Southmere Stage which will showcase the best of the town’s dance talent. New for this year is Free To Be, a calm zone, created in collaboration with local special educational needs charities. Springing from an idea put forward by two local artists to explore how the Festival can embrace differences with support from Peabody and Arts Council England, this is a prime example of what can be achieved through co-production and partnership.
For me, perhaps the most touching event of the day will be the first ever performance of the Thamesmead Anthem, written by a group of local residents and performed by a 20-strong choir from across the town. The group came forward with the idea to write and perform an ode to Thamesmead, titled Hometown Pride, and the project epitomises everything we have been working towards. In the words of local singer-songwriter Jules:
“Thamesmead has given me so much, so this anthem is dedicated to the place we live and that I grew up in. It allows us all to give something back to the town and its people of whom we are so proud.”
We hope you will join us on 10 August at what promises to be a very special Thamesmead Festival.
Adriana Marques, Head of Cultural Strategy for Thamesmead