Pleasure Gardens is a largely free festival which takes place over May Bank Holiday weekend in Victoria Park, Mile End.
Like many local authority sponsored festivals it lacks a bit of soul – very conspicuous professional security and the health and safety conscious wide gaps between stalls and stages does tend to ruin the vibe. The idea of a free festival was also stretched somewhat, with some areas, like the circus, being paid admission only. In comparison with other festivals, the stalls were rather thin on the ground – and there were very few community stalls.
Having said that, I really enjoyed Carter’s Steam Fair, a collection of fairground rides and attractions, including an old penny arcade – and the coolest mini roundabout of austin seven cars! The bands were also good – a blues/rock combo, Last Man Standing, really kicked hind parts.
