The Yard event held at Factory 15 on 17th August was a truly fantastic evening, from start to finish. To have such a huge name as DJ Cuppy in Barking was so surprising to my friends and I; as soon as we heard about it, we knew we had to go! From arriving in Barking you could hear afrobeats in the air, and the weather was great! The entrance decoration was impressive with a huge pink balloon arch, we assume in honour of DJ Cuppy herself, and effectively caught the attention of attendees, creating a great first impression. The vibe was great, with lots of different types of people all buzzing to have such a cool event in our area!
The food offered mainly featured African and Caribbean cuisine, alongside local favourites Pizza Pazzi. My friend Lucy had a jerk bagel from one of the stalls and she said it was the best bagel she had ever had! The main drink called ‘Strawberry Slaps’ truly did slap and it was great! The range of music included Afrobeats, Amapiano, Garage & a bit of Drill. The performances throughout the evening were absolutely fantastic. As well as great music, there were outdoor games, including table tennis.
Future events could, however, benefit from a few improvements:
- There was a bit of an issue with our names not being on the guest list. The organisers mentioned they had experienced similar problems with other attendees;
- Prices were quite expensive for the drinks especially considering we were in Barking, and perhaps more of a variety of different food types would have been good;
- Offering more background information and contact details for the different artists would have been beneficial for the audience;
- Having more of a range of games that everyone could get involved with would have been great too;
- It would have been beneficial to use the event as a platform for marketing the available space and engaging with individuals/professionals with relevant projects or businesses for MAKE IT Barking.
In conclusion, the event was a delightful evening filled with fascinating conversations and the opportunity to meet wonderful people. The inclusion of a photo booth added a nice touch, and the evening DJs curated a fantastic mix of music from various genres. It was amazing to come to a venue in our borough that had great music and vibes without us having to go into central London. You know it’s great when you’ve lost your voice the day after a night out!
By Erica Brobbey, local resident
Autumn 2023 Issue
