Wow, what a wonderful Festival! Thanks to the brilliant team of organisers and helpers, stallholders and the public, who turned up in droves and joined in the fun (especially the dancing).
The Festival organisers estimate a turn out of nearly 10,000, ranging from babes in arms to those of us who are enjoying our "third age" and truly reflecting our diverse community.
A new feature this year was the Community Friendship Zone, organised in conjunction with the Ruth Winston Centre. Yvonne Quiqley, manager of the Centre, commented that the Community Friendship Zone had been “a wonderful place for people to come and gather information and advice from a number of organisations in the borough and hopefully solved some of their needs and those of their loved ones. The Community Friendship Zone was an excellent opportunity for us to work together to break isolation and engage with the older community in the hope of encouraging them to join in an activity or group across the borough and seek the companionship they need. We look forward to carrying on our work throughout the year together on many projects.”
The Festival would not have been possible without the support of local sponsor, Winkworths estate agents, and the huge team of volunteers who turned out on the day. One volunteer from Palmers Green, Amrit Sagoo, said, “I volunteered at this superbly organised event, right down to the softly shining sun! It was good to part of it but more than that to give something back even if only my time to a place where I’ve lived for almost 12 years. A big well done and thank you to all those involved.”
(Oops, nearly forgot to mention the ice cream!)
Photographs: Phil Rogers
