Walthamstow

Walthamstow Garden Party cancelled ‘with no warning’

Local artists and creatives involved in the event were informed via email about a month ago
By Victoria Munro

The festival in 2019 (credit: Chloe Beale)
The festival in 2019 (credit: Chloe Beale)

After eight years and six free festivals, the annual Walthamstow Garden Party has seemingly come to a sudden and unexpected end.

Approximately a month ago, artists and creatives involved in the annual Lloyd Park festival, which began in July 2014, received an email stating it “will not be going ahead” this year.

The free summer event was the result of a collaboration between Waltham Forest Council and the Barbican and saw 30,000 people a year enjoy music, dance, spoken word and local food and drink.

Event organiser and DJ Dom Mandrell said he and many other local participants felt “deflated” by the sudden announcement, which came without “any discussion or warning”.

He noted that, in the early days, there had been talk of the community eventually owning and running the festival – an idea which has seemingly been abandoned.

A statement on both the council’s and the Barbican’s website reads: “The past two years have provided an opportunity for many of us to reflect on our priorities and to work together to reimagine what we do, as well as why and how we do it. 

“We are aware that the world looks very different now than it did back in 2019 and continues to be a time of real challenge for so many of us. We want to ensure that what we do is responsive and creates space for new ideas and positive change.

“We are delighted that the long-term creative partnership between the Barbican and London Borough of Waltham Forest will continue, and we are excited to see what will emerge through our continued collaboration.

“We’re grateful for the continued support from Arts Council England to help us with this next phase of our partnership.”


No news is bad news 

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts. 

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less. 

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation. 

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit 

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month.  £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.

Donate now with Pay Pal

More information on supporting us monthly or annually 

More Information about donations

478 Comments

Click here to post a comment

Our newspaper and website are made possible by the support of readers and by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider helping us to continue to bring you news by disabling your ad blocker or supporting us with a small regular payment.