So Much Trouble In The World – but Caribbean festival at Wimbledon Park will Stir It Up for the better
By Charlotte Lillywhite, Local Democracy Reporter
Europe’s ‘biggest’ Caribbean food and drink festival will come to Wimbledon Park every year, after the plans were approved.
Taste of the Caribbean Food and Drink Festival will next take place in September with a range of street food stalls, live music, funfair rides and rum punch.
It comes after company S&A Entertainment Ltd won permission to hold the festival over one weekend from May to September each year. The festival will take place on September 14 this year, from 10am-8pm.
Wandsworth council’s licensing committee approved the plans after ruling the festival would be ‘well run’ and promote cohesion by showcasing Caribbean culture. The dates of the festival will be confirmed with the council on a yearly basis.
Damien McClean, event manager, told the council’s licensing hearing on August 6 it is one of the only festivals of its size that both the oldest and youngest member of the family can attend.
He said: “It’s a family-orientated event that welcomes people of all ages, races, religions and sexual orientations to a family event to really enjoy Caribbean culture and Caribbean food.
“It’s also an event that caters for a demographic of people that are often overlooked during the festival season. Festival season in the UK has gone to massive levels, there’s festivals every weekend, but there’s a demographic of people that are often overlooked and that is families, that is people over the age of 60, that is people with disabilities.”
There will be a live music stage for tribute bands, including Bob Marley and the Wailers and UB40, and more than 25 food stalls representing different Caribbean islands. There will also be market stalls selling books, clothes, jewellery and toys, small funfair rides and free activities for kids – including circus skills, puppet shows, storytelling and arts and crafts.
The festival’s website says it is ‘Europe’s largest food and drink festival dedicated to Caribbean food’. Mr McClean said it has been taking place across the country for four years, with 17 events expected this year.
The festival took place in Wimbledon Park in September last year, under a licence that only granted permission for that event. S&A Entertainment Ltd now has an indefinite licence to hold the festival every year.