Heavy rain failed to put a dampener on the eighth Crystal Palace Overground Festival as the popular event played host to 172 performers and events in venues, parks and open spaces in Crystal Palace and the Upper Norwood Triangle area.
The annual four-day music and arts festival extravaganza ran Thursday 26 June to Sunday 29 June in Crystal Palace, and festival director Noreen Meehan said attendance numbers are looking to be in the 6,000 range across the four days. Despite the rain, the festival was a great success.
“Everything went really well,” Noreen said. “All four days were full of widely different events, and we didn’t let the rain get us down!
“Crystal Palace town was really busy and the rain failed to keep people away.
“We had so many fantastic bands in the Westow Park day line-up including song-writing legend Tony Hatch.
“Thanks to our team of dedicated volunteers, our local businesses supporting us – and this year, a wonderful boost with Arts Council and Film London funding meant we could deliver an even bigger event.
She said: “Each year has been very special but some personal highlights for me this year were the activities taking place in Crystal Palace Park, which were Vintage up the Palace and the truly wondrous Magical Sprite Village, where young adventurers could follow a treasure map to find the hidden sprites”.
The event has been growing in popularity since its launch eight years ago and Noreen says she is already looking forward to next year’s festival.
She added: “People stuck with us despite the showers and we even had some people dancing in the rain!
“There were some tremendous acts and artists and we would like to thank everyone who was involved in making the day a success – the bands, volunteers, local businesses, stall holders, funders, sponsors and everyone who came along.”
The festival featured food from all parts of the world, comedy and film, and workshops and activities in art, theatre, music and sports for young and old alike.
Other highlights included a table tennis competition, markets, spoken word, art trail, light shows, DJs, barn dance, music, vintage, food and drink stalls and tastings, and festival hubs at Antenna Studios, Westow Park, Crystal Palace Park and Crystal Palace railway station.
Organisers are inviting the public to have their say and complete a quick online survey to help shape next year’s eventwww.crystalpalacefestival.org/festival-questionnaire/
For more information about the Crystal Palace Overground Festival and to get involved, visit www.crystalpalacefestival.org.
