FISHPONDS’ biggest free festival, Party in the Ponds, is back this weekend.
The event will take place in Vassalls Park on June 13, from 11.30am to 9.30pm.
The headliners on the main Manor Stage are Royal Dub Collective, an 11-piece band from Brighton, who blend dub reggae with soul, ska, hip-hop, breaks and drum’n’bass.
The Vassalls Stage will be headlined by Bristol six-piece ska band the Houdinis.
Other bands appearing include Bleu Beard & The Desperate Hours, the Unusual Suspects and indie band Soft Kicks, who won the Party in the Ponds Battle of the Bands competition for the chance to play.
There were 22 entries to the competition, held at the All Inn pub in April, with the winner chosen by a combined public and committee vote.
Gareth Edwards, from the festival committee, said: “It was a three and three-quarter hour competition. The talent was out of this world – we could have filled both stages with the bands that tried out.”
Other performers include the Fishponds CE Primary School choir, the Rock Project, Stuart Irish Dance and 344 Dance Studio.
10th birthday for party
There will be a wide range of food and drink stalls, including Jamaican, Indian, Turkish, Greek and Mexican, vegan and vegetarian, ice cream, doughnuts and bars, plus craft, jewellery, clothing and charity stalls.
The event’s renowned raffle will feature a wide variety of gifts, tickets and vouchers donated by local businesses.
This year is the 10th anniversary of the free all-day festival, which started in Fishponds Park in 2016 and moved to its current, bigger site at Vassalls Park, near the Oldbury Court Car Park, in 2022.
Saturday is currently forecast by the Met Office to be sunny all day, with less than 5% chance of rain and a maximum temperature of 20C.
Organisers are calling on people attending the event to avoid using the car and instead walk, cycle or take the bus to the event, which is close to the 47x bus stop on Gill Avenue.
For more information visit the festival’s Facebook page or email partyintheponds@gmail.com.
Top picture: Crowds enjoying Da Fuchaman’s set at Party in the Ponds 2025. Photo by Tony Bundy
