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This year the Palmers Green Festival takes place on 2nd September.  As always it will be fun and be free. But this year it will also have a special theme: Health and Wellbeing. Its fare of world champion dancing, a fun-fair, two music stages, waggiest tail and other dog competitions, over 100 stalls to browse and lots more, will be augmented by a focus on building a stronger, healthier community and promoting healthier lifestyles.

Festival organiser and NHS worker Philip Chard told us, “When I heard that only one in every twenty residents of Enfield is sufficiently active to benefit their health, I stood back in amazement. Apparently we spend a massive £14m pa on car journeys of less than two miles. For the sake of a bit of walking or cycling, we are dying unnecessarily early, and even spending loads to do it!”

Phillip will be asking the people providing food and drink at the Festival to adhere to the Healthier Catering Commitment for London, while all stallholders will have to incorporate Health and Wellbeing into their offer.

“Dancing is one of those super-exercises - it’s fun and good for your mind as well as your body”, said Heather Oakley of Salsatricity (www.salsatricity.com), coordinator of the Festival’s dance zone. “It’s good for brain power, eases stress, is good for the elderly, and at the other age extreme, who can’t help but smile at a youngster learning to dance?  We have it all at the Festival and even provide lessons for free, often by the best of the best; we really are talking world champions.”

Sponsorship for Enfield’s biggest - and surely best – free event for everyone will again be provided by Winkworth of Palmers Green. Director Nick Charalambous now has a brand new cycle lane outside his office. “I haven’t given up on my car just yet but I’m happy to encourage everyone to attend and to come along on foot power or on a bicycle. As always, it’ll be a magnificent day for Palmers Green.”