Published on 18 April 2011
Connaught Village, Hyde Park’s retail quarter, will be transformed into a traditional village fete including flower arranging, a dog show, an art competition, and an abundance of street entertainment and colourful decorations as part of this year’s Summer Festival on Wednesday 15 June.
The annual event, which will run from 2-30pm – 8pm, will be bigger and better than ever, with Connaught Street, Porchester Place and Kendal Street all closed to traffic for a day of fun-filled summer activity.
The Village will be host to fantastic entertainment for the whole family to enjoy, from bespoke Blue Badge tours of the area, to traditional Victorian fete stalls, where residents and visitors can try their hand at the coconut shy, duck-catching and our very own test your strength hammer!
Children will be delighted to see fairground rides, face painters, and giant games such as bowling, Connect 4 and Jenga, all of which will be located around the Village for lots of after-school enjoyment.
As part of this year’s Summer Festival, Connaught Village is running an art competition with two local schools, Ravenstone Day Nursery, and Wetherby Preparatory School. The theme ‘my favourite summer outing’ will provide pupils with the inspiration to draw and paint their own creative interpretations. The chosen finalists from each year group will see their work displayed in an exhibition at 30/31 Kendal Street, allowing proud parents and visitors to admire the creativity and artistic talents of local pupils.
A great addition to this year’s line up are the street entertainers, who will be on hand to provide amusement with their juggling, stilt walking and intricate balloon modelling! Also new this year is Connaught Village’s first ever dog show, run in association with Connaught Street’s Hyde Park Veterinary Centre. Residents and visitors are invited to enter their prized canine in one of the show’s five categories, to be in with a chance of winning the most coveted accolade of all – The Hound of Hyde Park. The show will be held at 4.30pm outside the vets on Connaught Street, with all proceeds going to the Mayhew animal rescue centre.
Connaught Village’s fabulous businesses will be opening their doors, offering summer tasters, drinks and promotional material on the day. Prewett Miller, Connaught Village’s beautiful florist will be demonstrating flower arranging outside its shop, many of the restaurants will be serving mouth-watering dishes, and the fantastic fashion boutiques will be on hand with plenty of summer style advice. With a host of independent retailers such as CocoMaya chocolatier and artisan bakery, fashion boutiques De Roemer and Viola, and Royal hat makers Patey Hats, it is sure to be a day of great fun for all to enjoy.
Nick Fowles, of the Church Commissioners comments: “We are very excited by all the new entertainment that has been organised for this year’s Summer Festival. The day promises to have something for everyone to enjoy and we are delighted that there is such a variety of activities on offer, from the dog show to the children’s art competition. The Village is going to be the perfect setting for residents and visitors to celebrate the start of summer.”
Entry forms for the dog show can be found at the Hyde Park Veterinary Centre at 61-63 Connaught Street, from Monday 9 May. For more information on the day’s activities visit: www.connaught-village.co.uk.
13 April 2011
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Kelly Bradshaw/Jessica Hennis
Halogen
020 7087 3260