Around a year ago, I was part of a small group who helped to establish the Brunswick Park Tenants and Residents Association and yesterday we held our first fundraising event – a fete in Brunswick Park.
With minimal advertising and a next-to-nothing budget the organisers provided a brilliant day. Free face painting, free bouncy castle (the two most popular activities from what I could see), a very popular cake stall, free barbeque, bands and choirs, sports activities and various stalls including from the Council and local police.
And I was struck by just how successful the event was.
I guess we must have had over 300 people visit. It reminded me of our other big event: our first public meeting held last year where we established the association. Two big things that the Association has done – and two big turnouts of public support.
In between times, the committee has worked very hard to navigate its way through lots of admin processes involving the Council and various other public bodies and spent lots of time debating issues, but I guess most of this is probably quite dry and uninteresting to the wider community.
But I think they’ve spoken loud and clear on a couple of things: they support the need for the association and they support the idea of free public events in the park. So hopefully we will do more of them in the coming year, whilst also working away at the “duller” but equally important stuff that is necessary to keep the fun stuff happening.
I was also amazed by just how multi-cultural our local community is. Its great.
And I was reminded of that wonderful Margaret Mead quote about a small group of people changing the world.
Our park has had a tarnished reputation over the years but what we did yesterday was basically reclaim it for the decent folk – some of whom have actively avoided it for many years.
It wouldn’t have happened without the efforts of a small group of people working together to organise the bands, food, stalls and so on. And without the support of the wider community, who simply voted with their feet.
Simple actions that made a difference. Wonderful.
Sue, I didn’t know anything about this group! Congratulations….I love community action, and community-based action, yes as Margaret Mead said ‘Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world.’ I remember your park very well, I didn’t know that it had had an ‘unpleasant’ reputation. I remember it as a very beautiful old park with wonderful trees. And home to wonderful squirrels.
It still is a pleasant park but lately some of our neighbours have been hassled and some of their kids have been mugged.
So we’ve got to do something about it, but in a non-confrontational, collaborative way. Hence community action around reclaiming, rather than policing, the park – and reclaiming it for everyone, not just particular groups.
I am now chair of the association, and possibly chair of the Park Events sub-committee, so hopefully we will get a few more fun things happening this year to build on the success of our fete. Hoping for an easter egg hunt and another fete at least.
All as free as possible of course!