BonkersFest! - what is it?
BonkersFest! is a free annual one day summer arts and music festival, illuminating and celebrating madness, creativity, individuality and eccentricity; combating stigma and promoting good mental health - A day of bonkers celebrations for everyone - bonkers or not - on the Camberwell Green, South London, on 19th July 2008 from 12-9 pm. There will be live music in a Big Top, poetry, theatre, comedy in a Little Big Top, guided tour of the local loonie bin, fairground and much much more.
Festival Highlights in 2008
This year's theme of 'De-normalisation' sets the physical staging of the festival into zones of perceived 'normality' which get madder, sillier and more intense as they go! Festival-goers will experiences their own understanding of the mad reality via a sensory, colourful kaleidoscope of environment, image and sound. In addition to live art and visual installations, BF08 will host the Big Top outdoor music stage and the Red Star will host The Muses Café, a mad programme of theatre, poetry and performance.
Other treats include the Creative Routes Samba Band; improvisational walkabout, song, story-telling, magic, slapstick and tumbling from clown Dr Burnhart Gloss; a healing tent co-ordinated by the Central London College of Reflexology; information stalls promoting mental well-being and the awareness of mental health issues; and loads more entertainment suitable for the whole family.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR BONKERS JOURNEY Visit the Diagnostic Evaluation Machine in the centre of the green to receive your prescriptive.
DONšT MISS the Denormalise Cell, your day of madness isnšt complete without it!
IF IT ALL GETS TO BE TOO MUCH, dip in to the Cut Up tent for a mind-erasing experience.
WATCH OUT FOR the inspiring posse of human campaigning peas, periodically popping out of their pods and erupting into choreographed dance routines and politically pertinent chants.
This is a partnership festival led by Creative Routes, an arts charity, run by the mad for the mad. So we are bananas, nuts, bananas, crackers, barking, bonkers and proud of it too. We have all suffered shame because having a label of enduring mental illness also labels you as abnormal and frightening by society.
Click here for posters and flyers ::::: Click here for the BonkersFest '07 siteA Brief History...
1279-Camberwell Green Fair with its range of stalls, dancing and general merry-making, and a motto "Mad Doings in Camberwell". As one historical source puts it, "For these three days the residents of Camberwell were compelled to witness disgusting & demoralising scenes which they were powerless to prevent". In 1855 recently arrived, wealthy residents of the town (normals) clubbed together to buy the Green, ending the fair and turning Camberwell Green into a public park.
And now more 'Mad Doings in Camberwell' one that retains the merry-making, joy and celebratory aspects of the original event. "Bonkersfest!", which this year takes place on June 2, celebrates madness, creativity and eccentricity. A day of bonkers celebrations for everyone on their local village green featuring live music, poetry, drama, art and sound installations.