A new festival is coming to your doorsteps this summer. Urban Elephant on 29 - 31 July promises to be a vibrant community arts festival which aims to connect people across the local community.
The festival will kick off on Friday 29 July with a launch event at Castle Square (near Elephant & Castle station) where there will be dancing, DJs, music and food.
The festival then moves to multiple pop-up stages across the whole Walworth neighbourhood over the weekend. Each stage will host an exciting range of performances and activities guaranteed to get you in the mood for summer. A specially printed map and way markers will help you find your way from one stage to the next. Or you can hop on a cargo bike to save your feet for dancing the night away!
John Whelan is the festival director. Talking about the aims of the festival, he says: “We wanted to celebrate how rich and diverse our community is by creating pathways that will connect local areas. Southwark is a really creative place and the festival will showcase the talents of the Walworth community as ‘the world on one street’.”
“Sustainability is also really important for us. We have taken lots of environmentally friendly measures with the aim of being the first carbon neutral street-based festival in London.”
The closest stage to the Aylesbury neighbourhood is on Bagshot Street, with fringe events also taking place at the Albany Road Gardens. We look forward to seeing you there!
Bagshot Street Saturday 30 July
All day: Ok Grow plant wheelbarrow display
12pm - 1.30pm: Kaagô African dance
2pm – 2.45pm: Cabaret Cats singing and tap dancing
3pm - 5pm: Salsa dancing at Amigos
3pm - 6pm: Bike care and maintenance workshops with Community Cycle Works
Albany Road Gardens Saturday 30 July
12 - 3pm: Bike care and maintenance workshops with Community Cycle Works
12pm - 6pm: Garden open day - walk-through and plant care workshops with Ok Grow
6pm - 9pm: Cumbia Ceilidh after party - live music by Malphino including live ceilidh band and DJs
Bagshot Street Sunday 31 July
All day: Ok Grow plant wheelbarrow display
12pm – 1.15pm: Yurupari Group Colombia dance performance
1:45pm – 2.30pm: Tom Show unicycle juggler and performer
3pm - 5pm: Salsa Dancing at Amigos
The Urban Elephant festival is part funded by Notting Hill Genesis. Further information about events taking place across the whole weekend can be found at www.urbanelephant.org.uk.
