St Barnabas Community Fete

St Barnabas Community Fete (Bowstock)
St Barnabas Community Fete (Bowstock)
	2011 poster
Genre	Mixed
Dates	Early September
Location(s)	Bow, London, England
Years active	2003-2012[citation needed]
Founded by	Local residents
Website	www.bowstock.org

St Barnabas Community Fete (also known as Bowstock) was an annual fête and music festival held on Wennington Green in Mile End Park, Bow, London, England. It was run by local volunteers, who started the fete in 2003^{[citation needed]} as a non-religious, participatory, free and not-for-profit festival to bring together residents of all ages, faiths, abilities and races, to draw attention to local issues and to encourage volunteering and community action.^[1] The festival was directed by the vicar of St Barnabas Bethnal Green, Father Brian Ralph, nicknamed the "rock vicar".^[1] The festival ran until 2012.^{[citation needed]}

Musical artists played alongside acts from local schools and the community, and acts who have performed there include Babar Luck, The Beat, Black Daniel, The Blockheads, The Bollywood Brass Band, Chas'n'Dave, Saynab Cige, The Dhol Foundation, Heavy Load,^[2] Joi, Finley Quaye (a surprise guest at the first fete in 2003), Alaur Rahman, DJ Ritu, Sham 69, Neville Staple, U.K Subs, and Jah Wobble. The festival attracted around 2,000 people.^[1]

Around the live music stage, the organisers provided an information marketplace for community groups, and a range of activities for all ages, including a tea dance and extreme sports.