which (new) way next?

We've always liked doing new things and meeting new people. innocent was created just over ten years ago in exactly this way. Rich Jon and Adam decided to buy £500 of fruit and make it into smoothies to sell at a little festival in London called Jazz On The Green. They tried out their new smoothies with an ingenious new voting devise called the yes no bins and met lots of new people who said they liked their smoothies.

A few years later we came up with another new idea to return to our festival roots and put on a great get together in a big London park. We called it fruitstock and we held it each year for four years. Then we wanted to try something new again (you might be picking up a running theme here?) so we came up with the innocent village fete which we held last year and the year before in the same big London park.

This year our village fete is having a year off. We're working on something new and exciting for next year right now though. So we'd love to hear what you'd really like to see us do next? A traveling dog show? A touring swimming pool? The same village fete but in your back garden? Come 'tup North for once? Lots of small festivals instead of one big one? Something you can get involved with at your computer instead of 100 miles away?

Please let us know all your best (or worst) new ideas by leaving a comment on this blog post.

fete flickr winners

Last week we had a big Eurovision style vote for the best photos from our 2008 village fete flickr. The deadline has gone, we've added up the results and it's congratulations to all of the below.

Best fete game photo: SJNewton

Best picture of bunting: Mondoagogo

Best overall fete photo: CJSteele

Well done to each of you, we've sent you all flickr mails.

vote for fete

You might remember a while a go we asked everyone who came along to our village fete to upload their photos to our fete flickr group and FaceBook group. And that we'd give prizes to the best photos. Well the time has come for you to help us judge the shortlisted photos.

There are three categories, twelve photos, and everything to play for. Help to make someone's year by voting here before Sunday night (Sept 21 2008).

a feteful weekend

It's been a good few weeks since our village fete in Regent's Park so we thought we'd share some stuff we've uploaded, and you've uploaded, to the web since then (because 'tinternet was made for sharing).

First up our little film of the highlights from the weekend that bring it all back again...

Then here are some great shots from our fete flickr group and facebook event page.

Rainy yet resilient/ at least it didn't snow.

The bit when summer did what it's ment to do

We'll be sorting through all of the pictures from both groups in a couple of weeks and will put together a shortlist for the year's supply of smoothies competition. Then we'll get our innocent family to vote on the best 3 photos. Just like last year.

So if you've got any left over photos or video from the weekend hanging about, upload them now to be in with a chance of winning big.

love note board

At our fete the other weekend, we had a big pink felt covered board where you could leave a love note for someone you fancied or thought was rather lovely at the fete.

Lots of people left notes and we're keen to see if any romance actually came out of it.

There were over 1000 notes left over the weekend, all of which were dutifully read by Tansy, Ben and Stu.

So we're itching to know whether any love blossomed from these little notes?

Did the fine looking person by the tea stand hook up with the shy person who had the purple pen?

Did Jonathon meet Medium Build But Really Gorgeous by the ferret racing at 2:30pm on Saturday?

Did Casper read his note?

And did the pretty girl who sneezed on Dom's shoulder realise she'd stolen his heart as well?

If you left a love note or had a love note left for you at the fete, we'd love to hear what happened next.

some video highlights from the weekend

Youtube is a truely wonderful thing for stuff like this.

James Taylor Quartet on Saturday night:

nabbed from darrenwool

The wonderful Angus and Julia Stone playing their Mango Tree song on Sunday afternoon in the Hay Barn:

filmed quite badly by ourselves on a little digital camera that does movie clips

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain play a unique cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit. (Watch the far left strummer for some great ukulele head banging).

same camera, same shakie hip shot style

And last, but definitely not least, our very own innocent band in the Village Disco on Sunday evening:

thank you for coming

We had a fantastic weekend at the fete. We hope you did too, even though there were some slightly damp moments. Post your own photos on the fete flickr group when you have a moment - here are some of our favourites so far...

saturday at the fete

Day one of the fete was a belter - it ended up being a beautiful evening. Sunday tickets are available on the gate, on sale from 10am. See you in the park...

tickets update

Online ticket sales are now closed but you can still buy tickets at the box office in the park on both days from 10am. On-the-gate tickets are £10 for adults and £5 for children. Once they’re gone, they’re gone though, so make sure you get there bright and early. Click here to see the box office location.

where to park your bike

here

If you're planning on riding a bike down to the fete this weekend please pull up in our special bike parking area in the top corner of the park by the Penguin bit of the zoo.

You can give your special nod to other bike riders as you lock up, your bike will be safe and there will even be a free Dr Bike to check over your bike whilst you are off enjoying the fete (provided by the nice people at Transport for London to encourage active travel to our fete).

cometh the hour, cometh the fete

We've been down at the park quite a bit this week. Things are coming together nicely - lots of strong people lugging bits of tent all around the site, looking for mallets and pegs and wearing big boots so they don't get their feet bashed in.

These three poles mark the spot where the main stage will be, a.k.a. the Hay Barn. By now the chaps will have hoisted the tent right up to the top, and moved on to fixing up the rest of the site.

Thankfully, there are some solar powered eco-toilets for them to relax in when all of the hoisting is done.

how to get to the fete this weekend

Our friends at Transport for London have helped us to prepare this overview of the best ways to get to the fete this year incase you're starting to plan your route.

One thing you might want to note is that there is no Circle Line this weekend on either Saturday or Sunday due to planned engineering works.

Buses: C2, 13, 18, 27, 30, 74, 82, 113, 139, 274, 453, 189.

Tube: Why not stretch your legs and walk from these stations:
5 minutes walk from Camden Town (Northern Line).
12 minutes walk from Great Portland Street (Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines)
14 minutes walk from Regent's Park (Bakerloo Line).
19 minutes walk from Baker Street (Jubilee, Bakerloo, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines).
22 minutes walk from St John's Wood (Jubilee Line).
23 minutes walk from Marylebone (Bakerloo Line & National Rail).
* Please note the Circle Line is closed this weekend.

Bicycle: Find a bicycle, repair punctures, a lock and ride to the park. It's the quickest and the most convenient way to get to the fete. We're providing lots of bike racks at the fete so don't worry about having to tie yours to a lamp post. Plus there will be a free Dr Bike to check over your bike whilst you are off enjoying the fete. All of this has been provided by Transport for London to encourage active travel to our fete. Choose your cycle route: Find the quickest way using Transport for London's great cycle journey planner. Or choose the best route for you on quiet ways, greenways or the most direct route by ordering one of the TfL's free cycling maps.

Walk: Two feet can be quicker and easier than you think. To find the quickest route on foot go to www.tfl.gov.uk/walkingjourneyplanner.

Car: There is very limited parking at Regent's Park so we advise against driving.

the village voice

We've got a brand new area for words, theatre and performance at our fete this year which we've called The Village Voice. Along with performance art, poetry slamming, Giant Boggle and storytelling, our friends at Fourth Estate are also bringing along their book tombola.

Disclaimer: Tombola may not look like this in real life.

Not a sniff of tinned baked beans, bubble bath or crocheted egg warmers on offer. Just bring an old book along with you and swap it for another book from the tombola. Cracking stuff.

Other highlights include the first million pound poet, Murray Lachlan Young, who will be doing a spot of performance poetry on Saturday as well as Ross Sutherland and Chris Hicks from poetry boy band sensation, Aisle 16, who will be performing on both days. 

There'll also be amazing puppetry from Blind Summit, Lonely Planet travel writers telling tales of faraway places, live comedy and giant fridge magnet poetry for you to unleash your creative beast and make some beautiful haikus.

There's plenty of other interactive stuff to get involved with too, so make sure you get down there at some point this weekend.

colin, berti, tug boat and oysters

Please say hello to Colin (foreground), his cousin Berti (background) and their fine Scottish oysters*. Colin is our innocent representative up in Scotland. You might have seen him on our blog before presenting a retailer of the month award and riding a space hopper. Along with working for innocent Colin also does a nice little sideline in fresh oysters straight from his farm on Loch Creran, which he will be selling at our fete this weekend in the food market bit.

Colin and Berti call themselves the oyster boys, click back there to find out lots more about their oysters and peruse some photos of these strapping young Scottish chaps doing their stuff.

*Colin's brother 'Tug Boat' who often helps out with the oysters isn't pictured here. Tug Boat is called Tug Boat "because he is a very powerful man and he builds tug boats and 'extreme support vessels' for a living. He also loves being in the sea. When sailing he gets excited and his voice is fog-horn like. These combined attributes resulted in him being termed the tug boat". So now you know.

christian prommer's drumlesson & son of dave

Thought we'd show you some more of the people who will be playing at the fete. First, Christian Prommer's Drumlesson, who plough the furrow where jazz meets classic house.

They do a mean drum solo too.

And here's Son of Dave doing his one man thing.