Last year’s event drew 18,000 people to Charlton Park
Legendary rare groove DJ Norman Jay will headline the Together 23 festival next month, which is expected to bring thousands of people to Charlton Park.
The Kiss FM co-founder will follow performances from Parklife, a Britpop tribute band, and the southeast London party collective Groove 101 at the festival, which will take place from noon to 6pm on Saturday June 10.
Last year’s festival, which coincided with Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, was headlined by Tyber and Pete from the Dualers and brought 18,000 people to the park.
The family festival, which is being put on by Greenwich Council, will also feature arts, crafts and drumming workshops for children as well as stalls and a chance to meet councillors and community groups.
Adel Khaireh, the cabinet member for equality, culture and communities, said: “Every year, our family festival unites our communities for a free day of fun and I’m thrilled to be bringing the celebrations back to Charlton Park for a third time.
“We’ve got a fantastic line-up this year. From DJ Norman Jay and Parklife, to arts, crafts and Boppin’ Bunnies, there’s something for everyone. Get to know your local community groups and as always, our market village will be filled with local traders to try out.”
The event means that Charlton parkrun will not take place that day – giving runners and walkers a chance to visit the new Thames Path parkrun in Woolwich, which opened last weekend.
Last year’s event drew 18,000 people to Charlton Park
Greenwich Council’s Together 23 festival will be back in Charlton Park on Saturday June 10th, with organisers looking for performers, traders and activity providers to take part.
It’ll be the third festival to be held in the park, with the event now settling into early June after being held to mark Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee at the beginning of last summer.
Last year’s performers included Tyber and Pete from the Dualers and the House and Garage Orchestra, with 18,000 people attending across the day. This year’s event will bring more live music and performances, arts and crafts, community stalls, marketplace and street food, ‘have a go’ sports and kids’ activities and funfair rides.
Adel Khaireh, the council’s cabinet member for culture, said: “Every year, our summer event brings local communities together and showcases the borough’s diverse range of arts and culture, voluntary organisations and local businesses.
“The rising cost of living is putting pressure on all of us, so providing free family events for local people from all backgrounds to enjoy is more important than ever. Last year over 18,000 of you enjoyed Together 22. I hope to see many of you again in Charlton Park this June.”
Performers, traders, or anyone who wants to provide an activity at the event should move quickly and fill in the form at www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/take-part-T23 by Friday.
About 170 people run and walk around Charlton Park every Saturday morning
It’s nearly a year since parkrun first came to Charlton – and since then well over 700 people have signed up for a regular Saturday morning five-kilometre run or walk around Charlton Park.
More than 2,700 people have come from near and far to take part, and just as importantly, more than 230 people have volunteered – helping to marshal, setting the course up, welcoming newcomers, timekeeping or making sure all the finishers are counted.
It’s not just locals that take part – Charlton parkrun has become a draw for people from across London and far beyond. On a typical day, 171 people will finish the three-lap course.
The parkun team will mark their first anniversary on Saturday 1 October – but if you haven’t done it before, there’s no need to wait for your first time as they’ll be in the park ready for 9am tomorrow morning.
Through the gate at the Meridian Road end of the park…
LINDA BOSCIC, one of Charlton parkrun’s event directors, explains what it’s about and why you should give it a go…
On 2 October 2021, 330 runners and walkers and 34 volunteers turned up just before 9am to take part in the first ever parkrun to be held in Charlton Park.
Since that amazing day, every Saturday morning come rain or shine a team of about 20 volunteers will arrive from 8.15am – depending on their role – to set up the course and wait for the walkers, joggers and runners to arrive for the 9am start.
Once the tail walker – a volunteer who is always the last person to cross the finish line – completes the course, the volunteers complete the close down and put away the kit ready for the next Saturday.
It’s then over to the Old Cottage café for coffee, maybe some breakfast and a chat with participants new and old. It’s always supporting and welcoming, regardless of whether it’s your first time or 51st time.
Parkrun is a free 5k walk or run around your local park every Saturday morning (come at 8.45am if you’re doing it for the first time). Sign up at www.parkrun.org.uk/register, where you’ll be allocated a unique barcode which you can either print or download to your smartphone.
You then turn up on Saturday morning with your barcode in time for the run director’s briefing, ready to start at 9am. On completing the three laps of the course you are given a parkrun barcode with a position number on it. You then walk over one of our scanner volunteers who will scan the token and keep it, then they scan your barcode, which you keep.
What parkrun is not is a race – it’s an opportunity to walk or run in your local park with others from your local community, staying active and healthy, making new friends or helping to make the event happen by volunteering, because without the volunteers the event would not happen. We have people completing the event in anywhere from 16 minutes to 1 hour with an average time of 28 minutes across all ages from under-11s (who must be with an adult) to over-80s.
If you’ve never done a parkrun before, then either come and talk to us one Saturday morning and see what it’s all about, or just come and take part – simply let one of the team know it’s your first time and you will be welcomed into the parkrun family.
Charlton parkrun takes place every Saturday morning in Charlton Park at 9am. Visit www.parkrun.org.uk/charlton for more information.
Platinum Jubilee events will take over Charlton Park for two days in June
Greenwich Council’s new festival will return to Charlton Park in June to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend.
The Greenwich Together festival made its debut last August, with performances from dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah’s band and a Dua Lipa tribute act.
Now it and a mass family picnic in the park will be the centrepiece of the borough’s celebrations marking the Queen’s 70 years on the throne, which will be marked with a four-day bank holiday weekend.
Greenwich Together ’22 will take place on Thursday 2 June from noon to 7pm, while Picnic in the Park will run from noon to 4pm on Friday 3 June.
Applications are also being invited to hold street parties – interested residents can find more information at royalgreenwich.gov.uk/streetparties.
The announcement was made today to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Greenwich being declared a royal borough.
Council leader Danny Thorpe said: “We’re thrilled to be able to bring our community together once again this summer. This year, we have an extra reason to celebrate to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee so we are planning full weekend of fun for all the family – whether you’ll be attending, performing or setting up a stall, we can’t wait to see residents from across the borough getting involved.”
Traders who are interested in hosting stalls at the events should contact events[at]royalgreenwich.gov.uk, while the council is also offering funding for cultural organisations to take part in the events – more details at royalgreenwich.gov.uk/RGFfunding.
More than 300 people ran and walked around Charlton Park this morning
Parkrun made its debut in Charlton Park this morning – with 331 people running or walking for five kilometres around the open space.
Runners taking part in tomorrow’s London Marathon helped lift numbers for the inaugural event, with Charlton now the closest run to the start line at Greenwich Park.
Event director Linda Boscic rallies the crowd
But 35 people who had never taken part in a parkrun before also joined in for the first time, along with regulars from other nearby events.
Parkrun will now take place every Saturday – all abilities are welcome, just sign up and print off a barcode, and be by the table tennis tables at 9am. Today’s finish times ranged from 16 minutes to 57 minutes.
It’s a squeeze: the gate to the cricket field needs widening
Parkrun won’t be able to take place without volunteers – so if you can spare 90 minutes on a Saturday morning to help out, get in touch at charlton[at]parkrun.com.
Fancy doing 5k in Charlton Park? Your time has come…
Charlton Parkrun is coming very soon – if you want to take part, now’s the time to sign up.
Parkrun is a simple idea – you simply sign up, print off a barcode, then turn up at 9am on a Saturday morning to run or walk 5k around an open space with others in your local community.
Each event is volunteer-run – and the Charlton team have been steadily building up a list of volunteers. More volunteers are always needed – it’s a great way to meet people and doesn’t take up more than about 90 minutes of your time.
If you want to take part and you’re not already signed up with Parkrun, the website is now live at www.parkrun.org.uk/charlton – that’s where you can sign up and find out when the first run is.
Already signed up with Parkrun and registered elsewhere? You can sign in on the website to change your preferences so you can keep up to date with the Charlton run.
Parkrun began as a time trial for runners in Bushy Park. southwest London, in 2004, and there are now about 700 events across the UK, all taking place at 9am on Saturday mornings. A new run began in Sutcliffe Park, Eltham earlier this month.
In Charlton, the run will start and finish next to the skate park, and will comprise three laps of the park.
While Parkrun is a favourite with fast runners, plenty of people come to take it more slowly with the aim of improving their fitness and wellbeing. At last weekend’s event in Sutcliffe Park, 240 people finished the 5k course in times ranging from 16 to 64 minutes – with a tail walker in place to ensure nobody finishes last.
The event’s start-up costs have been funded by Greenwich Council and Charlton Triangle Homes.
Parkrun will be taking place here every Saturday morning
Parkrun will be coming to Charlton Park next month, its organisers have revealed – giving locals the chance to gather and run, walk or wheel 5k every Saturday morning.
The event was given funding by Greenwich Council in April after the Community Voting Day event, staged by the town hall’s public health department to help ideas to boost community wellbeing in the wake of the pandemic. Charlton Triangle Homes also helped fund the start-up costs.
Now organisers have confirmed that they have the go-ahead to start in October. The exact date is under wraps at present to prevent it being swamped on its first day – some more dedicated Parkrun fans have been known to travel far and wide to inaugural events.
All runners and walkers need to do is register on the Parkrun website and print off a barcode, and then turn up for 9am.
However, the team are still looking for volunteers to help put the first events on – if you can stand in the park and marshal, help time the event, scan barcodes or tail walk to make sure nobody gets left behind. If you can help, email charlton[at]parkrun.com.
Updated on Friday to include new email address and to mention Charlton Triangle Homes.
The Charlton Champion 