Pub in the Park took Wimbledon by storm as it took over Wimbledon Park for its first festival of the summer.
The first of ten summer weekends took place last weekend, with live events across Friday night, Saturday and Sunday.
The events will run until mid-September, finishing in St Albans with the next event taking place in Marlow this weekend.
There are still two London events left on the calendar for this summer, as Pub in the Park heads to Dulwich on 9-11 June, and Chiswick on 1-3 September.
The first thing to note about Pub in the Park is that while it was certainly in the park, it’s not really a pub, at least not in the conventional sense.
While there was alcohol – a lot of different alcohol options it should be said – it was more of a hybrid between a bar, a festival and a food show.
None of those are bad things, and indeed there was a delightful mix of options for people to engage with, particularly as mentioned on the alcohol side.
And there was a lot of personality on show, particularly from the various alcohol vendors trying to push their products.
The reason for that is the aforementioned wealth of options – meaning that vendors had to offer spin the wheel prizes (such as free shots), loud vibrant music, or pub games such as shuffleboard to get you buying their products.
The result was that there was lots to do and lots of fun to be had, but given the potency of some of the cocktails, it’s recommended that you pace yourself.
Whilst the alcohol options were the most prevalent, there was also a great selection of high-end food trucks available, as well as stalls selling sweet treats.
The chocolate brownies come very strongly recommended.
There was also live music, and that really helped to create the more festival vibe that ultimately describes Pub in the Park best.
There are some seriously big names still on the card for the remaining weekends, including Tinie Tempah at Dulwich and McFly at Chiswick.
There are also the live cooking shows, which were incredibly fun and interesting, as well as lots of stalls selling cooking equipment, helping to cement the idea that Pub in the Park is not one thing, but several.
The main drawback of the event was, in quintessentially British style, the weather. On the Friday night when we attended, it was very grey, chilly and muddy underfoot from a day of rain.
That definitely undermined the summer festival vibe we felt the event was trying to give and I can’t help but feel if I’d gone on the Sunday I would have enjoyed it more.
But then that’s the British summer and when the worst thing you can say about an event is that the sun didn’t shine, you know you’re in for a good time.
You can get tickets for Pub in the Park’s remaining weekends here.
