It was fantastic to welcome over 340 visitors to the De Frene Summer Festival on 16 August 2025. A huge thank you to all who came along on the day, who by generously spending over £3000 helped make it another successful event for Sydenham Garden. As with all our events, all money raised goes to support our work helping local people attending our projects.
There were activities for children and adults to enjoy from making miniature gardens or willow crowns; pond dipping or making a piece of collective land art or weaving on a giant loom using found objects / fallen fruit.
Visitors were able pick-up a bargain from one of the stalls run by Sydenham Garden groups including our Art & Craft; African & Caribbean Group and MUD projects as well as the Garden and Activities Clubs. All items for sale, which included cards; cyanotype patches; lavender bags; mosaic coasters; upcycled candle holders and a range of knitted items were all handmade by co-workers, volunteers and staff during project sessions.
The food court proved popular, with the team serving a tasty range of food from wood fired pizza; a sweet potato & chickpea tagine and a selection from the BBQ. We also had lots of lovely homemade cakes on offer, baked by members of our wider community.
Visitors were able to sing along with or dance to some great live music courtesy of Squawkers & Strummers, a local ukulele band who kicked off proceedings followed by Pengenista Drummers with their infectious Samba rhythms. Heart of Steel finished the afternoon off with the gentle sounds of the Caribbean with their pan drums.
Once again, we welcomed several local businesses selling a lovely range of items or if you wanted to, a therapeutic cuddle with one of several Pomeranian dogs!
Many thanks must also go to the Sydenham Garden team of who helped on the day and in the weeks running up to the festival to set up stalls, bake cakes, preparing food, run activities and making items for sale. Without your dedication and enthusiasm, we wouldn’t be able to put on a De Frene Summer Festival.
Our next fundraising event is our Winter Fair at the Resource Centre on 6 December 2025, we hope you can join us then. Watch out for more information on our website nearer the date.
