This Sunday, North London will see one of its largest community events take place as the Turkish Cypriots from across the capital and beyond come together for a one-day cultural festival at Enfield Playing Fields on Donkey Lane.

Around 25,000 people are expected to attend the festival, which will include live music, folk dancing, DJs, arts and crafts stalls, fun fair, Turkish Cypriot street food and more. If you are planning to go, here are some essential details about Sunday’s event.

Festival times

This large outdoor festival is happening on Sunday, 2 July 2023. The gates open at 11am in the morning and run through to 8pm in the evening, giving the public nine hours of quality fun time.

Entertainment

The event organisers, the Council of Turkish Cypriot Associations UK (CTCA), have yet to release the final line-up and event running order.

What we do know is that there will be two stages, one for music and culture in Turkish, the other – the Mid Summer Ball (MSB) stage – will be contemporary British.

The festival headline is popstar Işın Karaca, a London-born Turkish Cypriot who became a star after becoming a backing singer for Sezen Aksu. The multi-award winning artist, who featured as the support act when the late great James Brown played in Istanbul in 1999, has a sensational voice and broad repertoire straddling everything from Turkish pop, rock, classical and Arabesque, to soul and funk. Her hit songs include Dert Bende Derman Sende and Bir Garip Yolcu (Yalan Dünya).

Other acts on the Turkish stage include Ali ‘Babutsa’ Sönmez, folk band Gazi Set, Memzee, and Turkish Cypriot folk dancers. There’s a guest (comedy) appearance by everyone’s favourite Turkish Cypriot nenes, Ayşe and Fatma too.

Over on the MSB stage, expect a funky flavour of musical beats courtesy of 19 artists including DJ Eren (Abdullah), Ramsey, and Café432 (aka Mr Jones), and MCs NSE, Edksi and MC Sel, with PAs from Eylem, TruBlue, Havva and Le Pash.

There is also a big fun fair, donkey rides and other fun activities, such as face painting.

Entry tickets

This is a ticketed event and everyone over the age of 6 needs a ticket, which are priced £5 per person. CTCA encourages everyone to buy their tickets online before they arrive, as this will be the fastest way in.

Alternatively, you can queue to pay by cash to enter on the day.

Online tickets are available on Eventbrite – click here to buy.

Public transport

The venue doesn’t have the best public transport links. There is no nearby tube and the nearest overground stations, Enfield Town, Brimsdown and Southbury, are all about a 20-minute walk away. For those that can’t walk too far, there are buses that serve the route from these overground stations and tube stations – check Transport for London for details.

Car parking

If you’re planning to come by car, the good news is there is ample parking space. CTCA have agreed with Enfield Council to hire (at huge additional cost) an extra part of the playing fields, creating a large temporary festival car park sufficient for 4,000 vehicles.

The cost for all-day parking at the site is £5. Car park entry tickets are available from Eventbrite – click here. Scroll down the Eventbrite page for the Add-on option.

Again, prior online purchase is the fastest way to gain access to the car park: show your ticket for scanning and enter the site. Alternatively, join the car queue and pay on the day.

Stalls

There are lots of fantastic stalls selling all manner of fabulous things, from traditional arts and crafts to t-shirts, nazar-themed items and more. There are also lots of food stalls selling delicious Turkish Cypriot sweet and savoury snacks and meals.

Many will have mobile card machines to take payment, some won’t. Cash is king, so bring enough to allow you to shop to your heart’s content.

Weather

The weather forecast for Sunday is good! No rain! The day will start bright and sunny. There will be some cloud from noon onwards, with top temperatures hitting a very pleasant 21 degrees Celsius.

So get those sunglasses on and don some comfortable footwear and get yourself over to the biggest Turkish social event in the British calendar.