Camden Town’s free street festival is returning on September 2nd for a two-day celebration. Named Camden Inspire, the community-based event will pack in an interactive art space, workshops, comedy, theatre, live music, DJs, drinks, and some retail therapy into a pedestrianised corner just off Camden High Street. Taking inspiration from all things local, Camden Inspire wants to create a new blueprint for a more activated and socially connected borough. This year the event will expand to cover 20,000 sqft and run from Friday 2nd September to Saturday 3rd September featuring indoor and outdoor spaces throughout. 25 traders will take over the road with seating, bars, and activities with both family and adult entertainment taken care of. The free event aims to celebrate its community of small businesses and their value to the neighbourhood.
Simon Pitkeathley CEO of Camden Town Unlimited says “Camden Inspire is an ambitious event celebrating all that makes Camden Town unique. We are once again partnering with Camden Open Air Gallery in taking over Buck Street and Stucley Place for two days of the neighbourhood’s music, food, performance and art – showing the huge potential in activating public space and the future of our high streets.
This year we are working with Camden’s iconic music venues to showcase our local vibrant and diverse music scene, whilst also involving a wider range of food traders, workshop providers and creative entrepreneurs. We aim to build on the Camden Inspire community every year, inviting more venues, organisations and businesses to help shape the festival and evolve new ways to use public space”
As the site has expanded this year, so have the partners. This year there will be a number of music partners that will curate the music stage including the iconic Roundhouse, Camden’s Fiddler’s Elbow, Spiritual Bar, and Green Note who will be heading up the main stage offering.
Interactive art and play will take over an entire row of the festival letting local creatives try their hand at graffiti and street art whilst the festival buzzes around them. Camden Open Air Gallery will lead this down Stucley Place, and there will be opportunities for visitors to get involved. Plus it’s Camden Open Air Gallery’s first birthday!
This year’s traders will take a huge leap forward with the announced street food highlights being Filili Eats, a delicious dumpling trader. Hamlets Bakery, THINK Coffee and Ink, and Burger Craft. Peccati di Gola will be serving tacos and nachos alongside Doughlicious Doughnuts, and Locanda Badin who’ll be serving risottos, pasta, and gnocchi with Peccati di Gola dishing out tacos and Colombian arepas.
The retailers will be getting a huge dedicated space this year with homemade homeware, stationary, jewellery, clothing, and ceramics all on sale from local makers.
Camden Inspire is the brainchild of Camden Town Unlimited, a business improvement district democratically elected by local businesses to represent their interests in local and central government. At this time Camden Highline, Camden Collective and Camden Inspire are its flagship projects of energising the borough and bringing new ideas into the area.
Camden Inspire wants to bring some excitement back to Camden and boast about all the fantastic businesses dotted around the town. The first event was packed out so they are using this event to expand on a proven formula.
