Caught by the River

This past weekend, Fulham Palace served as the venue for the Caught By the River festival. Not only was there an all-star line up of performers, but also a variety of environmental speakers and activists. Caught by the River began as a website, nine years ago, which expressed an appreciation of the more bucolic areas of life. In more recent years, Caught by the River has grown to include a magazine, book publishing label, and record label. They now promote their ideas by hosting live events, which incorporate music, literature, activism and lectures. With its historic charm, lush gardens, and of course its location next to the Thames, Fulham Palace was the perfect venue for this event. 

Guests enjoyed a variety of music, from Super Fury Animal to Llareggub Brass Band.

Friends of the Earth, an organization promoting a different perspective on how we take care of our planet, were at the festival promoting "The Bee Cause". While they had several representatives in attendance, the two that stood out the most, were two young men in bee costumes. They ceratinly seemed to be enjoying the music and were activly promoting their cause! 

Seen here with Fulham Palace's, Rachel Bray, who gave them Fulham Palace stickers, which they gladly placed on one of their 'arms'. 

Canal and River Trust also had some lectures going on that were informative, and well received. Large groups gathered to hear speakers in a tent near the chapel. 

Another group was promoting banning grouse shooting for sport, which affects not only the animals involved but also increases environmental risks. They have a petition for people to sign online, and with 100,000 signatures, they will get the opportunity to speak with parliament about their cause. You can sign the petition, and learn more at www.petition.parliament.uk/petitions/125003. 

A familial affair, a father and his daughter promote a cause dear to their hearts. 

While the event was not put on by Fulham Palace, it was an excellent opportunity to inform visitors what Fulham Palace is, and tell them more about what we do. Majority of those in attendance had not heard or visited the Palace before. Volunteers set up stands near the walled garden, with information on up-comping events, bee keeping, and gardening. They also had a stand with fresh produce and flowers for sale. Tours within the palace and the walled garden were offered for visitors who wanted to learn a little bit more. 

Visitors who hadn't heard of Fulham Palace before getting more information. 

Promoting our own bee cause. The honey was a hit!

The fresh produce and flowers stand was popular with guests. 

Caught by the River was an eclectic festival that benefitted so many different causes, it was a festival for people passionate about the environment, music, and food. The weather was beautiful and warm, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the Palace venue enormously!

-Emily Lawson

FOLD Festival Review

On Saturday I took advantage of the volunteer offer for tickets to Nile Rodger's inaugural FOLD Festival at Fulham Palace. This was quite a coup for the Palace. For those of you who haven't heard of the legendary musician/producer and his band Chic, you've undoubtedly heard his music. He's worked with a stellar cast of artists such as Luther Vandross and Mick Jagger. He's written songs like Le Freak, Good Times, We Are Family, and produced album's for artists like Duran Duran and David Bowie. One of his three sets of the evening was a tribute to Bowie. Rodgers sang Let's Dance, and we did.

The Palace Green made for one of the most intimate festival experiences I've ever had. With such a bucolic setting, the general mood of the evening among the audience was laid back. Staff were friendly and professional. I was initially worried by the festival being cashless. I'm a self-confessed luddite. Guests had to pre-load a card with cash to pay for drinks and food. However after briefly queuing to put money on the card, I found it made the rest of the evening run much smoother. Queues for food and drinks was made much quicker. At the end of the evening it took barely a minute to have my remaining money returned.

Headlining the night was the artist Beck purveyor of folk funk Americana. You can tell I'm struggling to pigeon hole him as a performer. His music can be quite melancholy and whimsical. However he was determined to make the evening as upbeat as possible. Out went songs from his heart breaking (and my favourite album) Sea Change and the night was instead rounded off with hits like Loser and S*x Laws. 

We had so much fun that we sincerely hope there are many more concerts at the Palace. If you saw any of the acts at FOLD 2016 please feel free to comment below.

Steve Lee