The Colchester Anti Loo roll Festival took place on Saturday 14th September in lower castle park and it was known to be an event full of lively music, food and games that appealed to all ages, including younger children and older adults. Many bands played and this included the band Five, Take this- a take that tribute band, and The stereophonies- A Stereophonics tribute act. The Anti Loo Roll Festival is meant to show the unity of music and to show appreciation from where the music came from, and the festival was originally formed in 2021 to mark as a celebration for the ending of the COVID-19 restrictions, and this is why there are usually older bands that are playing or given tribute to, as they play these stereotypically older bands which shows appreciation from all kinds of music from different generations.
The festival took place on the 13th of september with a theme of 'a night at the proms' where an orchestra played alongside a Michael Buble tribute act, and gave the audience a chance to relax whilst listening and dancing to classical music before the festivities began in lower castle park on the 14th of September.
The festival took place from 10am-9pm and the festival began with more slow songs and romantic songs to allow people to relax in the warm weather and sun, whereas when the evening started, more upbeat songs were played which resulted in a more positive energy and a vast majority of people dancing along to the music. The Festival ended with something that the final act called an 'epic exit' which was a mashup of songs including 'hey jude' by The Beatles, Don't Stop Me Now by Queen, and Don't Stop Believing by Journey. This was thoroughly enjoyable as it ended the night on a high and due to the songs being very classic and well known, people were invited up on to the stage to sing and dance with the act and even had inflatable instruments to give to the audience.
Throughout the day you also had a chance to stroll and see the stalls that had been set up throughout castle park, which were mostly food and drink stalls such as a curry&rice station, a hog roast station, and a burger and chips station so there was a variety of foods to enjoy- and these stalls were also very mindful of allergens and offered a lot of gluten and dairy free options aswell as vegetarian and vegan options such as the chickpea and potato balti from the curry & rice station. As a person with allergies myself, it was refreshing to see everyone being catered for and with a bar available too, this was a very popular place to be and offered affordable alcoholic and soft drinks.
Throughout the day, we saw many interesting characters going around and entertaining the children and taking pictures with them, such as tyrannosaurus rexes, stormtroopers and Buzz Lightyear. These characters were seen dancing along to the music right throughout the evening, and putting a smile on many peoples faces.
