Coming up: A burst of cultural joy in the park

From the outset, a main reason for running this website has been to publicise the multitude of live events of all sorts that go on in and around Palmers Green and in the wider borough and north London. But during the last twelve months the listings section has for weeks at a time been almost empty - and if it wasn't for Zoom it would have been completely blank at times.

However, this week there is some good news - the listings section has been filling up with events that you'll have to leave home to attend - a weird concept, I know, but you'll get used to it and you won't have to travel too far, as they're mostly in Broomfield Park.

The people responsible for this transformation are the Friends of Broomfield Park (FoBP), who instead of hibernating over winter have been busy planning a "burst of cultural joy" - the Broomfield Summer Festival.

Central to the Summer Festival will Broomfield Park's former bowling green. Events lead for the Friends is David Williamson, who will be familiar to many as one of the core team running Talkies Community Cinema. He explains how the disused sports facility is coming into its own:

"Talkies has been showing films on the old bowling green for the last six years and the audiences have always loved it. Yet we weren't really getting the most out of the space. However, after the first big lockdown ended last year, we began to explore the green's potential as an outdoor venue, and we were able to run three events there under Covid restrictions. This has given us the experience we need for a more ambitious programme during summer 2021."

The bowling green - now re-christened Broomfield Bowl - will be the venue for most of the Summer Festival events. The festival launches on 21st May with the first of three music events organised by the team behind the Livestock Music Festival. The Motown Band will be treating us to a fantastic evening of Motown, Soul and Disco classics.

The festival then continues with an amazing array of music, theatre, dance, cinema, family and food events. Tickets have only been on sale a short while and already the outdoor restaurant in the orchard has sold out. With limits on numbers, it’s best not to leave it too late to book.