Despite the blustery winds, we had an amazing turnout at Beats, Boards & BBQ for Parksfest this July, a true testament to the spirit of Charlton. Our community showed up in full force, showcasing our unique blend of creativity, diversity, and just a bunch of really cool folks doing what they love.
Our aim was to bring together friends and neighbours, and wow, did we succeed! We saw everyone, from our poets to our skateboarders, our dog walkers and our ravers, our pensioners and of course our kids and young people. It was a proper Charlton-style get-together, and everyone added their own special touch to the event.
We can't wait to throw an even bigger party next year that truly highlights what an incredible and one-of-a-kind place Charlton is.
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Meanwhile, a huge shout-out to everyone who made this year happen:
At the heart of it all and drawing the crowds, skatejam and skateboarding lessons from School of Skate
BBQ by the Old Cottage Cafe and juice from The Village Greengrocers served up free for kids, with pizza by Papa Dough
DJ Shorty brought the day together with phat beats on the decks, with poetry and performance by T-StarNay, Notorious P.I.P, Miss D and Mr T, Faysal Hamzat and Angel Banda - all backed up by an immense sound system from Rigfiftyone
And there were games: Kes & Koro taught dog agility and dog skateboarding, Train with Tara hosted rounders, John Hyatt spun the little ones around with Teacup & Saucers, The Scout Association brought stalls and games and Charlton Athletic Community Trust offered free health MOTs
None of this would have happened without funding from our ward councillors Gary Dillon, Lakshan Saldin, Clare Burke-McDonald and Jo VanDenBroek, help and support from Terry Powley at Parksfest, and the hard work of the Royal Borough of Greenwich parks team.
There was also a lot of organisational muscle behind the scenes, led by our committee member Mike Chatterton: line-up curation by Sharlene Stewart, photography by Matt Drewry, support from the Friends of Charlton Park committee, volunteers from GoodGym and Charlton Parkrun - and of course all the lovely volunteers who handed out food tokens, managed the graffiti wall, picked litter and much much more.
Thank you all so much! We can't wait to do it again.
Photos: Matt Drewry and attendees