Rain couldn’t stop the 3rd Ebbsfleet Fusion

Strong winds and intermittent rain fall couldn’t stop the third Ebbsfleet Fusion Festival from taking place in Platinum Jubilee Park on Saturday 6th July. The family and community themed event, which is now in its third year, was produced by Cohesion Plus in partnership with Ebbsfleet Development Corporation and supported by Arts Council England. Despite the weather conditions, hundreds of local residents came out to support and enjoy an exciting programme of explosive artistic performance, fitness and wellbeing workshops and hot food.

Civic guests Mayor of Dartford Cllr Andy Lloyd and Cllr Jeremy Kite MBE the Leader of Dartford Borough Council were both in attendance to enjoy the festival and meet with local residents.

The artistic programme showcased musical performances from around the world including Tanga Pasi, an African Reggae fusion act who wowed the crowds with their melodic renditions of fan favourites such as One Love and Three Little Birds. They were joined by the incomparable vocalist Adelina Antonovici who performed songs from the likes of Adele, Sam Smith and Bob Marley whilst Fusion brass band Crocodile Style performed their signature renditions of pop classics.

There were also street performers hailing from stomping ground such as Covent Garden and the South Bank on hand to entertain the local residents including a dazzling fare of juggling acrobatics and a Charlie Chaplin act who interacted with and wowed crowds with his mischievous and antics.

The undoubted highlight was Circus Raj, a troupe of dancers, musicians and acrobats from Rajasthan, India who drew large crowds throughout the day. They undeniably brought a sense of wonder to the proceedings.

There was also an active / wellbeing zone which hosted boxercise and Bollywood dance workshops. There were also a number of information stalls around health as well as public consultation taking place by Ebbsfleet Development Corporation. For the kids, face painting and sports such as soft archery proved popular.

Food from around the world was also on offer with traders from the Ebbsfleet area offering mouth-watering cuisine such as Afro-Caribbean curries and jerk chicken, to Indian samosas and kebab wraps, burgers and hotdogs, delicious home baked cakes and cookies as well as, hot drinks, ice cream and slush.

Gurvinder Sandher MBE the Artistic Director of Cohesion Plus commented “We are so incredibly proud that we were able to put on such a fantastic event despite the horrible weather conditions this year! We are also grateful to all the local residents who came out to support when the rain threatened a washout. We made sure they were repaid for their efforts with a wonderful day of activities, food and drink which were provided by local micro businesses and residents. Our aim was always to put on a fun family themed event that at its heart had arts, culture wellbeing at its core. I think we had more than achieved that and we are grateful to our partners Ebbsfleet Development Corporation for all their support and encouragement.”