Celebrate all things Thamesmead at this South London festival

Didn’t you hear? Thamesmead is one of the must-see places in August.

Southmere Park is the setting for the Thamesmead Festival – a community-led “celebration of all things Thamesmead” which takes place on Saturday 20 August.

This year’s show features Thamesmead-based street dance group Dynamix, local singer Samm Henshaw and UK Got Talent champions Twist and Pulse, as well as a host of stalls run by local bands and charities.

Art installations are also a big part of the festival, and this year’s centerpiece is Fields of EveryWhen: a hot air balloon ‘carpeted’ with stories from the region, which will hover above the festival site and act as a floating gallery .

And you can fill your boots with dishes, including Jamaican (The Caribbean Hut) and Nigerian (Yeti’s Authentic Kitchen).

The festival originated in 1971 as the Thamesmead Town Show, with a ‘throw in the towel for the vicar’ stall (though we’re told the cloth dwellers no longer face such a soggy fate).

6,000 people attended the festival in 2021. Imagine how popular it will be when Thamesmead has its long-awaited station.

Thamesmead Festival, Saturday 20 August, Southmere Park, 12pm-7pm free