Get Set For This Year's MyRaynesParkFestival
Ten days of live entertainment will be on offer
The countdown is on for this year’s MyRaynesPark Festival, which begins on Friday June 29, offering the people of Raynes Park 10 days of live entertainment.
This annual arts festival has got bigger and better every year since it started in 2010. This year there are 21 events, and Tom Underwood, Chair of MyRaynesPark, is confident 2018 will set new records. "Last year we reached our widest ever audience with over 1,000 people attending," he says. "Thirty local groups are partnering with us and there is a schools programme which will reach many more."
Providing the entertainment, and the thought-provoking talks, include returning favourites, the Jigsaw Players and comedian Andy Kind. The festival also welcomes comedian Dana Alexander, author Tim Finch and poet Zena Edwards for the first time.
Once again the festival is linking with Refugee Week, hosting events including a Syrian cooking workshop presented by a local refugee. Alongside regular favourites - quiz night, comedy night and poetry evening - will be speed art, pub games, gaming night (for 11-18 year olds) and many more.
The programme is developed around five core aims – Celebration, Inclusivity, Creativity, Community and Justice. This year, more than 60 per cent of the events are ‘pay what you can’, making it possible for everyone to attend. And because some people are not fit enough to make their way to the events, there will be an art workshop for the residents at Carters Care Home led by pupils from Raynes Park High School, and pupils at Treetops, the base for autism at West Wimbledon Primary School, are displaying an exhibition on the theme of friendship at the Lantern Arts Centre.
The festival will end on Sunday 8th July with a celebratory community fun day in Holland Gardens. ‘Raynes Lark in the Park’ will feature music, sport, Indian dancing, Capoeira, African Art, street entertainment and the opportunity to taste international food supplied by local restaurants.
The festival is organised by Raynes Park Community Church, the Salvation Army in the local community, and is a not-for-profit venture thanks to financial support from the main sponsors Merton Council and the Wimbledon Foundation Community Fund as well as local businesses.
Full details of all the events can be found on the festival’s website – www.myraynespark.co.uk.
June 15, 2018