Hampstead Garden Suburb is preparing to play host to a packed weekend of music, comedy, and family fun.
Proms at St Jude's is a volunteer-run top flight music and literary festival which runs this year from June 22-30.
The final weekend on 29 and 30 June sees two days of free events and fun with a relaxed vibe, a bar and Pizza Pazzo selling freshly baked wood oven pizzas on both days.
Saturday night kicks off at 6pm with a free jamming session by The Thumping Tommys, playing a heady brew of Irish and American folk music.
From Dublin the main event then moves to Detroit and a rousing evening of Motown music with Wayne Hernandez and his Band. It will be a lively night with the powerful sound of soul!
Wayne has worked with the “greats” including Tina Turner and Diana Ross and his band will perform favourites from The Temptations, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and many more. £15 tickets are still on sale for an evening that is guaranteed to see people dancing in the aisles.
To round off the evening there is Late Night Stand up comedy at 10pm: three comedians, lots of laughs, for one hour only.
Jo Romero is an award winning comic and compere while Gerry K and James Dowdeswell, will delight and entertain with their intelligent humour.
Sunday afternoon sees the focus shift to families and children.
Kate Webster, Chair of Proms at St Jude’s, says “Last year we held our first family day and it was a great success with hundreds of children joining in. We are keen to encourage younger people to come and experience Proms and bring their parents along as well!”
The afternoon kicks off at 1pm on Central Square with a range of free activities which include: an owl trail - a hunt for real and imaginary owls; African drumming workshops; Dr Steve Head, a leading ecologist, leading biodiversity tours to see wildlife habitats; art workshops; a musical journey exploring wind instruments and a free concert by Youth Music Centre.
If that isn’t enough, families can buy tickets for Junk Orchestra, Teeny Proms for toddlers and a children’s concert. Toscana Strings will perform the stories “Peter and the Wolf” & “Ferdinand the Bull”, a reinvention of family favourites through storytelling, dance and music.
The Festival ends with the popular Last Night concert, but this year, “As Never Before”. The Rainer Hersch Orkestra will lead the audience through the classic last night repertoire with a huge dose of fun.
He will be joined by bass baritone James Oldfield and the inspirational Gareth Malone OBE, who will narrate part of the evening’s entertainment.
Come and experience the magic of Proms at St Jude’s.
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