Every year, usually during a weekend in July, Croydon holds a free festival. They have several stages and, on the main stage they have been able to get some very good acts to headline. This year they had the Stereo MCs and Finlay Quaye amongst others. In previous years they have been able to get Jimmy Cliff, The Specials. So it's always worth turning up to hear some old classics and it's all free! On Sunday, the wonderful open space of Lloyd Park is turned over to the Croydon Mela. As the name suggests, this part of the festival has an Asian bent to it with Indian music headliners. This year it was Sukshinder Shinda while the smaller stages had traditional Asian music and some local dance troupes. Every year they also have a funfair with the usual rides and arcade games. This is always popular with the kids, of course.
At the very least it's a great excuse for a family day out and everybody is well looked after in terms of facilities; queues for the toilets are very short, there are playgroups and activities to amuse the younger kids and the stalls are great for anyone who just wants to wander around. They always seem to have something quirky aswell. This year there was the Movieplex: World Cinema in a Nutshell. This was a completely mad tour around the works of Shanta Rao Dutt (possibly not a real person) ending with one of his short film from the 1920s. Luckily, the weather held out this year but it does become a bit problematic if the heavens do decide to open as there are very few places to shelter and the ground becomes a very shallow mudpool. read more