Community comes together to Celebrate Streatham
Celebrating Streatham, a free event for the local community showcasing its vibrancy, talent and diversity, organised and held by Chuka Umunna MP took place on Saturday.
The event centred on a talent show with a judging panel, with acts taking part from youth and community groups as well as local schools. Up for grabs for winners of the audience vote and the judges’ vote respectively were the prizes of performing at the Lambeth Country Show and Streatham Festival later this year as well as the opportunity to record a music video for both winners.
Judging the acts were Mercury Music Prize winning musician Speech Debelle, singer songwriter Alex Berger, Streatham Festival chair and former professional dancer Chix Chandaria and Hamdi Bonin, who runs local social enterprise Generation Next.
Performers included groups from Streatham and Clapham, Dunraven and Bishop Thomas Grant and St Martin in the Field Schools, Clapham Youth Centre, Gloria Bailey MBE’s Make a Difference group and Aim High Dance Academy.
Winning the audience vote was Bishop Thomas Grant’s Sophie Michael who wowed the crowd with her Broadway-style rendition of Don’t Rain on my Parade. Aim High Dance Academy topped the judges’ vote.
There was also an exhibition of local photography and information stalls run by local organisations and community groups including the Streatham Society, St Michael’s Fellowship, Sustainable Streatham, the Woodlawns Centre and Sustainable Streatham.
Local celebrity and contestant on the BBC’s Apprentice this year, Edna Agbarha attended and was interviewed by Mr Umunna during the event’s interval.
The event was sponsored by local businesses Taylor’s pub of Streatham High Road and Brixton’s Satay Bar.
Commenting, Chuka Umunna MP said:
“I held Celebrating Streatham to bring the community together and showcase and take pride in the fantastic array of local talent we have and support the great work which our local community and voluntary organisations are doing.
“I am pleased that the event was such a great success and was hugely impressed by all the acts who took part.”
