The summer festival is the heart and soul of a community, bringing residents closer together as they organise and later enjoy the fun-filled event.
It's a chance for people to feel some pride in the place where they live, and an opportunity to show others from out of town exactly what
their place has to offer.
Ealing, in west London, will be holding
its summer festival for much of the month of July. Four parks (namely Walpole, Acton, Ravenor and Gunnersbury) will all be hosting events, which'll include live music, comedy, drama and more.
The festivities begin on the 2nd of July with Greenford Carnival in Ravenor Park. Expect all the usual fun of the fair, with rides galore, challenging sideshows putting your hand-eye coordination to the test, and plenty of sticky toffee apples, candy floss and the like.
A week later Acton Park plays host to the aptly named Acton Carnival. Be sure to be there from the start, as you won't want to miss the carnival procession. It leaves Woodlands Park at 12 noon and will make its way to Acton Park via Crown Street and the High Street before arriving in Acton Park. This colourful carnival is truly a community event, so why not go along and say hello to your neighbours.
If Ealing Comedy in the Park manages to hit the funny bones of the masses, then the ground will be littered with heads, having been laughed off in response to the wit and one-liners of comics like Ed Byrne, Stephen K Amos, Alistair McGowan, Ardal O'Hanlon, Papa CJ, Bob Mills, Lee Nelson, Paul Tonkinson and the legendary American funnyman Emo Philips.
Ealing Comedy in the Park enjoys two stints in Walpole Park: the 15th and 16th of July, and from the 20th to the 22nd of July.
Walpole Park is also hosting Ealing Opera in the Park. Performers
Opera a la Carte are billed as "one of the UK's most exciting and original chamber opera companies". Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto will be the order of the day (the day being the 17th of July).
If you'd prefer some blues music to opera singing, then put the 23rd of July into your diary – Scottish singer-songwriter
Sandi Thom will be headlining Ealing Blues, playing alongside a host of others acts on the day. The event kicks off at 1pm and finishes at 10pm.
If you're up for some international entertainment, the following day (24th of July) you'll have Ealing Global Festival banging out numbers from across the world.
And rounding off the festival will be a four-day jazz extravaganza, beginning on the 27th of July.
All the above musical events will be taking place in Ealing's Walpole Park and tickets go on sale on the 1st of May.
