Barnet’s award-winning Summer Soulstice festival, held each year in memory of Andy Weekes and raising money for Cherry Lodge Cancer Care, returned to OE Memorial Fields on Saturday 24th June 2023. The weather was glorious and around 3,200 people came to the festival to soak up the atmosphere and relax in the sun while enjoying the very best soul music.
Terrific live performances on the Main Stage came from festival headliners the Brand New Heavies, American singer songwriter Kathy Kosins, Soulstice returner singer and actress Vivienne McKone, and multi-talented Soul Fusion Seven. A wide selection of ‘Soul on a Summer’s Day’, with something for everyone, was expertly delivered across the three music arenas – the Main Stage, Connoisseurs’ Tent and Club Tent – by 30+ of the UK’s best DJs.
The VIP area, the Sun Hut, was situated at and set up by the Black Horse pub in Wood Street, who did a brilliant job. Mi-Soul Radio, Summer Soulstice regulars, broadcast live there throughout the event, including music from Carolyn Griffey of Shalamar.
Summer Soulstice prides itself on being a great day out for all the family, with giant inflatables and other activities to keep the kids amused. Food vendors provided an impressive choice of delicious snacks to suit all tastes. As always, the Cherry Lodge stall was a prominent gathering point, providing information about the charity and selling merchandise items to raise money to help fund our services.
We take this opportunity to thank the Summer Soulstice crew for their tireless work throughout the year, which really pays off. We can’t thank them enough and we are so proud to be part of such an amazing festival. Summer Soulstice has been supporting Cherry Lodge since 2007 and, not surprisingly, some of the original crew members decided to step back after last year’s event. Notable among them was Jamie Topham, whose role in shaping and delivering the festival was truly exceptional. This year, Richard Weekes and Jamie Farquharson took on additional roles and did a great job steering the crew through some stressful times to deliver yet another fantastic festival.
Thank you also to the many volunteers who make this festival happen, and to everyone who bought tickets and attended, raising a huge amount of money to help Cherry Lodge continue to provide our many cancer information and support services completely free of charge.
Click on the small images below to enlarge them.
