This years 1st community festival held at St James open space Grove Street Snells Park Edmonton London N18 was a great success.

Over the past several months the partnership of Enfield Homes and FECA have worked tirelessly to plan the 5 festivals which are being paid for by Enfield Council and staged throughout the borough this summer. Although today's event which was attended by aproximately 800 hundred people, could in some ways be seen as a belated celebration of the Audit Commission 2 star rating recently accredited to Enfield Homes, the reality is that we were celebrating community cohesion and resident involvement.

As intrepid young mountaineers abseiled the climbing wall, adventurous toddlers navigated the bouncy castle and squeals of delight could be heard over the pulsating beat that provided the exotic 'backdrop' for the Indian dancing which was so beautifully choreographed, the fun had begun.

For our 'eco-environmentalists' we had a farm on site for the day, something the children young and old adored. The old-fashioned carousel and slippery slide were the scenes of much enjoyment throughout the afternoon with excited youngsters and their parents expressing their disppointment once the day's events drew to a close. Another great attraction was the giant play letters that was used to gather information from local young people in the hope that we can be better prepared to consult with them in the future.

Bob Heapy Chief Executive of Enfield Homes was present thoroughout the afternoon along with a number of his team looking resplendent in their purple polo shirts complete with two golden stars. The Chairperson of Enfield Homes, Litsa Worrall, was also in attendance as were Board members Janet Billingsley and Frances Sidey. We should not forget our local dignitaries who also gave up their time to attend, and they included Cllrs Matthew Laban, Tony Dey, Kris Brown and local MP Andy Love.

We left little to chance in our intent to include all sections of the local community and in that endeavour we must give special thanks to Garrett Pennery, Faith Officer for the Metropolitan Police in the borough. PC Pennery also encouraged youngsters and their parents to take a photo opportunity dressed in full riot gear and we have some photos to prove it. Then along came Smarty Arty for the second time who involved all the young people in a very colourful multi-cultural flag waving dance.

We were also treated to a couple of unexpected musical renditions by members of our very own multi-talented Enfield Homes staff including the Chief Executive - think Britain's got talent? Watch this space Simon Cowell!!