The Homecoming festival will include demonstrations on how to design carnival-style costumes

TALACRE  Gardens is set to be transformed on Sunday into a celebration of Anglo-Caribbean culture – as the annual Windrush Homecoming festival runs through the day.

The event, which began three years ago, aims to celebrate the fact that Kentish Town was home to a huge number of people who came to live in London during the Windrush years – and the impact they have made on our communities.

The event includes live music, DJs, workshops, food and a market showcasing businesses. One aim of the festival is to acknowledge and celebrate the huge impact the children of the Windrush generation have made in Camden – from innovators, creatives, artists, musicians and business people who have influenced the face of contemporary Britain.

Talacre Gardens was chosen as the space to host the party because Camden’s first black mayor, Gerry Williams, fought long and hard to secure the space for the public.

It had been a bomb site in the postwar period, and Gerry campaigned to make it a public square and gardens for the people of Kentish Town.

Organiser Ashleigh Treize told the New Journal how the event has brought together the Kentish Town Community.

She said: “We are so grateful for the support of groups like the Friends of Talacre, the sports centre and the Town Hall. Kentish Town was a place where a big number of the Windrush community settled and made it their home. “Camden played an important role and this event recognises that.” Highlights include the Beloved Elders Tea Party, organised by historian Emily Momoh, which celebrates the stories of generations of black Londoners.

Music has been curated by DJ Matt White, whose family were from the Windrush generation. His grandfather came from Grenada and was a professional photographer.

Performers include Winston Reidy from the seminal British reggae band The Cimarons, Lovers Rock singer Carroll Thompson and Soul II Soul’s Jazzie B.

Caribbean food served up by Camden-based black-owned businesses will keep visitors refreshed and on top of the music and food, visitors can watch steel pan demonstrations and learn how to design carnival-style costumes with the Genesis Carnival Arts group, in the Claudia Jones Carnival Zone.

Town Hall culture chief Labour councillor Sabrina Francis said: “We are proud to be home to many from the Windrush generation, whose culture, innovation, and artistry have helped shape the Camden we know today. Our programme of events offers an unmissable opportunity for our communities to learn about the history of Windrush and to celebrate the rich Caribbean heritage that is such a vital part of Camden’s story.

“Windrush 2025 also marks 60 years of Race Relations legislation in the UK – this theme will shape our landmark Annual Pitt Lecture at Bloomsbury Theatre, where I am honoured to host Baroness Lola Young and take part in what promises to be an inspiring panel discussion.”

Windrush events and festivities 

The Homecoming Celebration takes place in Talacre Town Green, Talacre Road, NW5 3PH, on Sunday June 22, 12pm-7pm. FREE, no booking required.

l The Annual Pitt Lecture – Baroness Lola Young on Equality, Social Justice and 60 Years of the Race Relations Act – takes place at the Bloomsbury Theatre tonight, (Thursday). 

l A plaque will be unveiled at Camden Town Hall on June 26, marking the place where Britain’s first Caribbean carnival took place. See page 12 l An evening with the Poet Laureate of Barbados Esther Phillips and Paul Lashmar at the Frontline Club, W1.