With the unfortunate cancellation of Devizes International Street Festival this year due to Arts Council cuts, all eyes are on our wonderful Hillworth Park next Sunday (14th July) for DOCA’s Picnic in the Park; now more now ever DOCA needs our support, and this promises to be the best and most fun way to do it!
Truly a community and family event, yes it’s a picnic, in a park, as the title suggests but there’s oh, so much more to it; bring your own picnic, Hillworth supplies the park, DOCA provides the sparkle, as I trust you’ll already know this and have allotted it into your busy schedules. Although there’s an important note we must say:
Due to losing the Arts Council funding for 2024, DOCA will be asking for donations on the gate to cover the cost of this event. This is entirely voluntary, but any contribution you can make no matter how small, will be greatly appreciated.
If you cannot attend but would like to donate to DOCA, find a Crowdfunding link HERE
Expect fairground rides for kids, stalls, delicious crepes from La Bonne Crêpe and drinks from Freddy’s Double Deuce Bar. Plus the usual fab offering of drinks, snacks and ice creams from the Hillworth Park Cafe.
Good Habits, one of the most exciting indie-folk duos to come out of the UK, will be there. Cellist and singer Bonnie and percussionist Pete on accordion and synths have received international critical acclaim with performances at Glastonbury and WOMAD, tours throughout Europe and Australasia, and a Top 40 album. The pair mix revved-up virtuosity and harmony with vivid storytelling, drawing on their diverse musical tastes and weaving them into an action-packed narrative of genre-bending goodness.
Banjo, mandolin and fiddle trio, Kai Carter’s Old Time Hustle will do as they say on their tin, timeless frenzied folk shenanigans to make you forget munching on the Penguin biscuits your mum packed in a lunchbox and come jig with us!
I’m delighted to announce the final band suggestion is via us. Although The Sarah C Ryan Band are locally based, rarely have they played Devizes, (I believe the Southgate in 2022) so we need to give them our warmest of welcomes. I think they’re perfect for this, smooth, cool original pop-rock, and they’ve played extensively across our festival circuit; I’m hoping to catch them later today at Minety!
There’s a minor detail I’m delighted about at this year’s Picnic in the Park, but it’s all top secret, so you’ll just have to come along to find out what it is! But I can tell you, top street cabaret act Able Mable will be there too, vibrant, technically skilled charisma which nerve fails to entertain.
In a continuous bid to reduce waste, DOCA have partnered with Devizes Town Council, and Picnic in the Park will pilot reusable pint and half pint cups, aiming for drinks to be disposable-free across the whole event. Please be sure to return your cup as instructed on the day; DOCA thank you for supporting their efforts to make positive changes to the environmental impact, and in turn, we thank them for all they do to keep events sustainable.
Everything winds down around 5pm, making it the perfect Sunday in Devizes, but if you’re in need to carry the party on, around the same time, the wonderful Essex Americana group Jamie Williams & The Roots Collective will be just around the corner, at The Southgate; and they come highly recommended by us.
Hope to see you all, with no excuses, at Hillworth Park a week today; yay for DOCA, please support them and all the wonderful work they do for our town.
devizine.com 