Free live music and more than 25 community groups in Bond Square, midday to 5pm on Saturday 26 September. No ticket needed, and the full stage times are below.

Bond Square at The Lexicon is given over to a free community festival next Saturday, 26 September, from midday to 5pm, with a stage running for the whole five hours and more than 25 local groups taking stalls.

The Bracknell Forest Communities Festival is free, and the council says no ticket is needed. The whole thing is outdoors.

Here is what the council has published, and what is worth knowing before you go.

The stage times

Performances start at midday and run to 5pm without a long gap. The council has published the running order in full.

Time On stage
Midday Opening speech from the Mayor of Bracknell Forest, Cllr Peter Frewer
12:05pm to 12:15pm Albanian children’s dance
12:20pm to 12:50pm Artemis Studios
12:55pm to 1:05pm Nepalese dancers
1:30pm to 1:40pm Indian Community Association Bracknell, Indian dancers
1:45pm to 2:35pm Matthew Allman
2:40pm to 3:10pm DanceXcite
3:15pm to 4:05pm Dhol Collective
4:10pm to 5pm JB MAC
5pm Event close

A few of those names will mean more with a line of context, all of it from the council’s own acts page:

  • Matthew Allman is a singer originally from Barbados, now living in Berkshire, with a set list the council puts at over 370 songs across reggae, soul, Motown, rock, pop and blues. He gets the longest afternoon slot.
  • Dhol Collective play Panjabi dhol drumming mixed with modern music, and teach dhol in Bracknell and Slough.
  • DanceXcite is a Bracknell street dance organisation whose dancers the council describes as 19-time world champions.
  • Artemis is a Berkshire performing arts education charity and one of the borough mayor’s chosen charities.
  • The hosts are two Bracknell men, Will and Manny, who have lived in the town all their lives.

Three of the nine slots are cultural performances from the borough’s Albanian, Nepalese and Indian communities.

Who is taking a stall

The council’s stallholder list runs well past the “more than 25 groups” it promises. Among those confirmed:

  • Support and advice: Andy’s Man Club, Berkshire Women’s Aid, Home-Start, Youthline, Stepping Stones Recovery College, the Stop Smoking Service and The Cowshed.
  • Work and learning: the Youth Employment Hub, Easthampstead Works, the Open Learning Centre and Bracknell Forest libraries.
  • Faith and cultural groups: Bracknell Islamic Cultural Society, Bracknell Nepalese Society, the Indian Community Association Bracknell and Potter House Church.
  • Clubs and hobbies: Bracknell Camera Club, Ring Amateur Boxing Club, the Gaming Hub and Warfield Board Gamers, the Bracknell Repair Café and Crafting Smiles.
  • Volunteering: Involve Volunteering, Get Berkshire Active, Green and Active, Thriving Communities and Stronger Together Communities.

There is free face painting, a free community art project with Janine Tonkin Art supported by Sandhurst Youth, and food and drink from Brew and from Musica, which is doing a bar and pizzas.

The Youth Employment Hub stall is worth a look if you are 18 to 24 and claiming Universal Credit. It is the borough’s service for exactly that group, and the August claimant figures published this week put under-25 claimants in Bracknell Forest at their highest level in five years.

What it means for you

The practical details, all from the council’s event information page:

  • Free, and no ticket. Everyone is welcome.
  • Accessible. Bond Square has step-free access, and there are accessible parking spaces in the car parks nearby.
  • Dogs are allowed, but the council warns the event will be noisy with limited shelter, so it asks you to use discretion.
  • Children are welcome, and the council asks that young children are supervised.
  • Dress for the weather. It is outdoors with limited shelter.
  • Getting there: there will be signage from both the train station and the bus station. The nearest taxi drop-off is at Waitrose.
  • Be aware there is a photographer and a videographer on site. The council says the images will be used for its own communications and marketing, and by the other partners running the event.

Come early if you want a seat: the council’s own advice is that the performances begin at midday and to “come early to grab a seat”.

Who is paying for it

Bracknell Forest Council names Bracknell Town Council as lead sponsor, along with Thriving Communities, and the Abri Community Fund for its contribution. Abri, a housing association, also has a stall with its community chef.

The council frames the festival as coming out of its Stronger Together Communities Strategy. Cllr Helen Purnell, the council leader, said in the council’s announcement on 16 September: “Bracknell Forest has a thriving community made up of a wide range of amazing organisations and clubs. This festival is the ideal way of bringing these groups together to showcase the fantastic opportunities on offer in the borough.”

Getting there and parking

Bond Square sits inside The Lexicon, so the town centre car parks are the ones to use. The Avenue on Millennium Way is the biggest, at 1,194 spaces over six floors, with Braccan Walk on The Ring next at 356. Both have a 2 metre height barrier and share the same tariff. Two things to know: the council’s charging car parks give no free concession to Blue Badge holders, and the resident permit zones on nearby streets are enforced 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday.

Sources