Inside Canterbury City Sound projects ‘warm up weekend’
From two stages of music, to tempting food markets and over-exposed urinals. CSP in the park was a well organised and fun day out, with way more on offer than I expected.
When?
The City Sound Project ‘warm up’ was a free event hosted in the Dane John Gardens from Saturday 4th and Sunday the 5th May, to pre-empt what the next bank holiday(25th-26th May) has to offer in the City.
CSP’s main event will “take over the whole of Canterbury for a huge festival, hosting 16 stages throughout the city across the weekend”
I attended CSP in the park on the Sunday, this bank holiday weekend event was branded ‘Canterbury in harmony’ and it certainly was overall. The family-friendly event certainly was a crowd pleaser for all age groups, although you were not allowed to bring your four- legged friends along…
Food and Drink
Food at CSP in the park had a variety of stalls from local businesses- everything looked and smelt incredible.
The prices varied and on average a main meal would be around £13-15, although smaller dishes such as fries and ice creams were available.
@canterbury_hub Some of the fantastic local food markets at Canterbury City Sound Project in the Park
I opted for Hide&Greek, a local food stall that make fresh Greek dishes such as gyros. I chose halloumi fries and greek fries – paprika and oregano seasoned fries. It cost £13.50 – the portion size was generous and it was perfectly cooked.
The bar however was limited in soft drink options.
Annoyingly after a rather late Saturday night I rather fancied a coffee or a cold juice and neither were on offer. Coke-zero, Coca-Cola, Ginger Beer and lemonade were the only options at the bar for £3.50. I thought this was rather extortionate but expected.
The ‘igloo’
My highlight of the day was the Igloo tent, which had a lineup of Dj sets throughout the day.
SugarSoul were brilliant and many people seemed to agree with a wide, diverse audience all enjoying the music.
The atmosphere was positive and the Igloo tent made me forget for a second that I was in the Dane John Gardens.
The main stage had lots of familiar and genuinely good music too, as the igloo may be subject to taste.
The weather started to turn as I felt a few raindrops while enjoying my food, we decided it would be a good time to make an exit.
When leaving I spotted how over-exposed the mens urinals were, a sight that was more than I bargained for to say the least..
Overall thoughts
Overall, the event was way better than imagined. I was sceptical of the fact the event was free and the family friendly element could have made un-enjoyable for someone in their twenties – this wasn’t the case. The event clearly is a build up and a tactful promotion to encourage people to book tickets for the main CSP’s event at the end of May.
It also gave people a chance to support local businesses, artists and celebrate the bank holiday.
More information on the event and upcoming CSP tickets is available here https://www.citysoundproject.uk/