St Barnabas Community Fete (also known as Bowstock) was an annual

fête In Britain and some of its former colonies, fêtes are traditional public festivals, held outdoors and organised to raise funds for a charity. They typically include entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments. Village fêtes Village f� ...

and

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

held on Wennington Green in

Mile End Park Mile End Park is a park located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a linear park of some , and was created on industrial land devastated by World War II bombing. Some of the park is within Limehouse and Globe Town/Bethnal Green, wit ...

Bow, London Bow () is an area of East London within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is primarily a built-up and mostly residential area and is east of Charing Cross. It was in the traditional county of Middlesex but became part of the County of ...

, England. It was run by local volunteers, who started the fete in 2003 as a non-religious, participatory, free and not-for-profit festival to bring together residents of all ages, faiths, abilities and races, to draw attention to local issues and to encourage volunteering and community action. The festival was directed by the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

St Barnabas Barnabas (; arc, ܒܪܢܒܐ; grc, Βαρνάβας), born Joseph () or Joses (), was according to tradition an early Christian, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew. Name ...

, Father Brian Ralph, nicknamed the "rock vicar". The festival ran until 2012. Musical artists played alongside acts from local schools and the community, and acts who have performed there include

Babar Luck Babar Luck is a songwriter and musician based in the UK. Born in Pakistan in 1970 he moved to London at the age of eight years and was educated in East London Background Former bassist of the British skacore band King Prawn, Babar Luck has a ...

, The Beat, Black Daniel,

The Blockheads The Blockheads are an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Originally fronted by lead singer Ian Dury as Ian Dury and the Blockheads or Ian and the Blockheads, the band has continued to perform since Dury's death in 2000. Current members ...

The Bollywood Brass Band The Bollywood Brass Band is a brass band playing Bollywood and traditional Indian music, based in London, England. The band was formed in 1992 to perform with the Shyam Brass Band from Jabalpur, India, at the International Festival of Street Mu ...

, Chas'n'Dave, Saynab Cige,

The Dhol Foundation The Dhol Foundation is both a dhol drum institute in London and a musical group playing bhangra music. The dhol school was founded in 1989 by former Alaap member Johnny Kalsi when several musicians asked him to be their teacher, and a first alb ...

, Heavy Load, Joi,

Finley Quaye Finley Quaye (born 25 March 1974, Edinburgh, Scotland) is a Scottish musician. He won the 1997 MOBO Award for best reggae act, and the 1998 BRIT Award for Best Male Solo Artist. Life Finley Quaye is the son of vaudeville pianist Cab Kaye and t ...

(a surprise guest at the first fete in 2003),

Alaur Rahman Alaur Rahman ( bn, আলাউর রহমান; born 1960) is a Bangladeshi-born British singer. Early life Rahman was born in Alagdi, Jagannathpur, Sunamganj, Sylhet District, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). He attended Madrasa, primary ...

, DJ Ritu,

Sham 69 Sham 69 are an English punk rock band that formed in Hersham in Surrey in 1975. They were one of the most successful punk bands in the United Kingdom, achieving five top 20 singles, including "If the Kids Are United" and "Hurry Up Harry". The ...

Neville Staple Neville Eugenton Staple (born 11 April 1955), sometimes credited as Neville Staples, is a Jamaican-born English singer, known for his work with the 2 Tone ska band the Specials, as well as with his own group, the Neville Staple Band. He also per ...

, U.K Subs, and

Jah Wobble John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...

. The festival attracted around 2,000 people. Around the live music stage, the organisers provided an information marketplace for community groups, and a range of activities for all ages, including a

tea dance __NOTOC__ A tea dance, also called a ''thé dansant'' (French for "dancing tea"), was a dance held in the summer or autumn from 4 to 7 p.m. In the English countryside, a garden party sometimes preceded the dance.''Party-giving on Every Scale ...

and

extreme sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...

Poster gallery

Image:St-barnabas-community-fete-bowstock-poster-2010.png, 2010 poster Image:St-barnabas-community-fete-bowstock-poster-2009.png, 2009 poster Image:St-barnabas-community-fete-bowstock-poster-2008.png, 2008 poster Image:St-barnabas-community-fete-bowstock-poster-2007.png, 2007 poster Image:St-barnabas-community-fete-bowstock-poster-2006.png, 2006 poster Image:St-barnabas-community-fete-bowstock-poster-2005.png, 2005 poster Image:St-barnabas-community-fete-bowstock-poster-2004.png, 2004 poster Image:St-barnabas-community-fete-bowstock-poster-2003.png, 2003 poster

References

External links

* {{coords, 51.5311, -0.0416, display=title Music festivals in London Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Bow, London