The report included below was written by our roving reporter, Freddy Kater, before Cherry Lodge Cancer Care received the terrible news that £45,000 has been stolen from Summer Soulstice HQ. Click here for more information on the burglary or visit the Summer Soulstice website for further information and updates.
Summer Soulstice 2018
After five months of intense planning, the organisers of Barnet’s annual Summer Soulstice festival had done everything imaginable to ensure that this would be another successful event. Regular meetings were held to select the DJs, the Main Stagers, the Connoisseurs and the Clubbers. Decisions were also made concerning which food vendors were to be got on board, about the variety and quantity of drinks to be ordered, and the merchandise to be sold – not to mention the choice of highly important festival sponsors.
Saturday 23rd June 2018 was the culmination of all this planning and another absolutely splendid event it was. The weather was better than anybody could have wished for and people came from far and wide, filling the camping site and car parks in readiness for the fantastic entertainment laid on. Appearing on the main stage were The Real Thing, S.E.L (Soulful Emma-Louise). Howard ‘HoJo’ Johnson (in photo 10, below) and Daisy Hicks.
The Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP not only got to the venue but managed a tour of the grounds, meeting and chatting to several radio performers who were all very interested in meeting an MP who is keen on modern music and refers to the Soulstice as ‘Barnet’s own Festival’. As a loyal patron of our charity, she also visited the Cherry Lodge stall (photo 4).
Other visitors to the Cherry Lodge stall included Charles Weekes, father of Richard and his brother Andy in whose memory this annual event is put on. Dave James, chairman of Summer Soulstice, also came by and can be seen with Tina, Cherry Lodge Fundraising Coordinator, in photo 9. Some of our volunteers had been busy creating ‘Soulstice slime’ which proved hugely popular and sold out in no time. The stall’s LED flashing jewellery was also in great demand and as the daylight slowly disappeared it became an extremely attractive decoration.
The festival food was wonderfully varied and especially the Jamaican street food ’went down a treat’. Entertainment for the many children was much appreciated and they made full use of the bouncy castles, slides and trampolines.
As previously, this was a truly amazing, friendly, good-natured musical event which involves a tremendous amount of hard work for the organisers and countless volunteers but is worth it for the sheer happiness it creates.
THANK YOU ALL!
Click on the small images below to see larger, complete photographs.
