Op-Ed: Crystal Palace Overground — How not to run a festival?

London - A festival will shortly be starting in Crystal Palace, South London. If you haven't heard about it, that is hardly surprising.

Penge Festival 2012 and the forthcoming Sydenham Arts Festival may not be large affairs but they are professionally run. Crystal Palace borders both Sydenham and Penge, so it seems the denizens of South East London are spoilt for choice. Alas, the forthcoming Crystal Palace Overground Festival is the odd man out. Neither its press officer- if it actually has one - nor its Facebook page, appears to be responding to inquiries, and e-mails to the address designated for volunteers have the habit of bouncing, at least they did last week. This may be because it is an all volunteer event, like David Cameron's big society, but if people are getting their entertainment on the cheap and even for free - with a purple balloon or two thrown in - perhaps they shouldn't complain too loudly. For those who can be bothered, the official website has details of the happenings in Westow Park and elsewhere. According to their blog, there will be no less than ten bands performing. Last year, a total of 4,000 people were said to have attended, which is of course considerably fewer than are expected for the London Olympics, but at least here you won't have to pay seven quid for a pint of beer and £8+ for fish and chips.