St Barnabas Community Fete

St Barnabas Community Fete
St Barnabas Community Fete
	2011 poster
Genre	Mixed
Dates	Early September
Location(s)	Bow, London, England
Years active	2003-present[citation needed]
Founders	Local residents
Website	www.bowstock.org

St Barnabas Community Fete (also known as Bowstock) is an annual fête and music festival held on Wennington Green in Mile End Park, Bow, London, England. It is run by local volunteers, who started the fete in 2003 as a non-religious, participatory, free and not-for-profit festival to bring together residents of all ages, faiths, abilities and races, to draw attention to local issues and to encourage volunteering and community action.

Musical artists play alongside acts from local schools and the community, and acts who have performed there include Babar Luck, The Beat, Black Daniel, The Blockheads, The Bollywood Brass Band, Chas'n'Dave, Saynab Cige, The Dhol Foundation, Heavy Load,^[1] Joi, Finley Quaye (a surprise guest at the first fete in 2003), Alaur Rahman, DJ Ritu, Sham 69, Neville Staple, U.K Subs, and Jah Wobble.

Around the live music stage, the organisers provide an information marketplace for community groups, and a range of activities for all ages, including a tea dance and extreme sports.

The 2007 St Barnabas Community Fete featured as a case study in the 'Community' section of the Living Britain report published by Zurich and The Future Laboratory,^[2] which includes an interview with the fete's director, Father Brian Ralph, vicar of St Barnabas Bethnal Green.