Green Festival organisers hail launch event a huge success

The annual Green Festival, organised by Peterborough Environment City Trust, kicked off with a vibrant party in Cathedral Square on Saturday (2 june).

Thousands of people have been celebrating everything green at a week-long city festival.

The Green Festival, which runs until Sunday, kicked off last Saturday with a party in Cathedral Square with an estimated 5,000 people passing through.

Throughout Cathedral Square, stalls were set up with information about environmental projects.

And there were a host of games for youngsters to play including a pedal-powered Scalextric and a smoothie maker mounted on a bicycle.

Dancers led routines in front of the Guildhall, mascots from various organisations held a race and beat boxers entertained the crowds.

But a picnic held in Itter Park on Sunday was a bit of a wash-out with the rain keeping the crowds away.

Festival organiser Ben Middleton, from the Peterborough Environment City Trust (PECT), said: “The city council estimates about 5,000 people go into the centre of town on an average Saturday. We managed to grab all of those.

“It has been a great day and we’ve still got loads of stuff to come. The feedback has been fantastic, I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

“The Green Festival is used as a platform for all the great environmental groups in Peterborough.

“Sunday was very wet and not many people came. But we had a handful of people who were here all day.”

Jo Sennett, from Eastfield, went along to the festival launch with family and friends. She said: “My son Cameron had done some work for it at St Thomas More Catholic Primary School.

“I think it’s fantastic. It is extremely important bringing the community together within the city while also highlighting green issues.”

One of the biggest draws at the opening event was a 1959 Chevrolet Impala which is being converted to run on alcohol rather than petrol.

The work is being done by Bob Hodgson who is a member of the newly-formed group Peterborough In Transition, whose aim is to find community-led responses to climate change. Sophie Antonelli, one of its founder members, said: “This is our first public appearance and people are really, really interested. We are about the people in Peterborough working together to find a more sustainable future.”

The launch party for the Green Festival marked the start of a week of events.

Throughout the week a pop-up shop has been selling a range of exciting goodies made by crafty people in the city including jewellery made from discarded bottle caps and other “up-cycled” gifts as well as art from the Blok Collective.

The RSPB ran a course on Tuesday for children to learn about bird-life.

There are several bug hunts and events for children at Flag Fen, Ferry Meadows and Peterborough Museum on Friday.

The finale from noon to 7pm on June 10 is at Willowbrook Farm, Helpston, and will feature a green triathlon of a short bike ride, a guided walk and a mini-bioblitz – identifying as many critters as possible as 
well as tractor rides and a barbecue.

Tags: Green Festival

Category: Event / Festival Interviews & Reviews