Time for a festival party

5:00pm Thursday 17th August 2006

THE three-day extravaganza that is the Walthamstow Festival starts today (August 18).

Music, art, performance, cinema and sports are all celebrated at the event, which is organised and run by volunteers and is completely free.

Dr Who fans will enjoy this year's outdoor cinema showing of the classic Dr Who film Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150AD starring Peter Cushing, which kicks off the festival in Walthamstow Town Square at 8pm. The film carries a U certificate and is suitable family viewing, although, while visitors are advised to bring blankets and cushions for comfort, the festival budget sadly did not extend to sofas for people to hide behind.

On Saturday (August 19), the festival celebrates Waltham Forest becoming an Olympic Borough, with a sports day aimed at encouraging the Olympic spirit in the borough's kids.

Children also have their own mini festival in the town square on Sunday (August 20), with entertainers, larger than life storytelling, dressing-up, face-painting, workshop activities, circus sillyness and a procession starting at 2pm.

As before, music is a focus for the festival with a dance party on Saturday from 4.20pm starting with Leytonstone's live drum n bass band Step 13 and featuring Craggz and Parallel Forces and Addictive TV, along with DJs playing funk, soul, breaks, ragga, samba and drum n' bass.

There is a world music and rock focus with three stages of music from midday on Sunday.

Headliners and WOMAD regulars, Ska Cubano, will be joined by Forty Thieves Orchestra, Hungarians Mukka, Spanish Flamenco dance from Flamenco Irie, Shekoyah, an act mixing up Russian and Kleizmer, punk, old skool and funk maestros Ivory, gospel from Walthamstow's Emmanuelle Christian Centre and soul from Howard Brown Supersound, on the main stage in the town square.

While on the Urban Peace Stage, Skinnyman returns along with DJs and local talent from Estate of the Arts, Soloman Music Academy and KCKlub, from 12.45pm.

On Tabloid Zen stage in Vernon Road, opposite the Chequers pub, The Wrong'uns, W.I.T, The Wave Pictures, Subway Architect, Pearly, National Snack, Useful, Betamax and The Happiness are primed to show the world the breath of talent that can be found in the borough. The action here starts at midday and runs until 7.30pm, with indie DJ Nick Hendry, compere David Norton and Bop It Blast champion Ian Collie completing the line up.

Dance lovers can kick up their heels with tango, swing, lindy hop, jive and salsa in the Red Onion Big Dance Ballroom.

And Rock n' rollers can also dust off their dancing pumps and get jiving with the residents of Cleveland Park Avenue between 1pm and 6pm on Sunday.

Rockabilly bands, boogie woogie and DJs will transform the street, while tea, cakes and cherries will be served up by the Viva Cake girls.

And the festival would not be complete without world record-breaker and stuntman, Terry Cole's legendary hour of power, between 2pm and 3pm on Sunday, and a 24-hour world record juggling attempt ending on Saturday.

For more information, including times of the full line-up see www.walthamstowfestival.com.