East Croydon Cool Winter Party

What a night that was! On Wednesday 28 February, over 100 Croydoners joined us at The Store for our Winter Party.

These Seasonal events are designed to bring a local crowd together over music and drinks whilst (gently!) encouraging people to get to know each other.

A warm welcome from our #ProfessionalMinglers (Freddy, Mirri, Norman, Sheri and Vanessa) set the tone for the evening while guests (70% of whom came by themselves) brought the perfect mix of energy and enthusiasm to ensure a great night.

Locals threw themselves into the “Find Someone Who…” game, which encouraged guests to work the room and get chatting in order to find five different people who fulfilled the “unique” criteria we had set 😉

Riding high from being selected as ‘Record of the Week’ by BBC Introducing, multi-talented musician Alex Hall, provided a great soundtrack to the night. The moment he took to the dancefloor with his trumpet proved a particular highlight!

Those needing some time out from all the mingling, headed to The Green House where local artist Samantha (from Scene in London), was leading a postcard collage workshop. Incorporating her illustrations of landmark buildings from across the Borough, alongside other craft materials, participants created their ideal vision for a future Croydon. B(ecky) from Turf Projects was also on hand to help facilitate and capture comments and views that will feed into the Town Centre Regeneration Strategy.

We had some lovely feedback about the night, with the general theme being that people were excited to see a friendly and interesting mix of Croydoners come together and celebrate their home town. Comments included:

“Met soooooo many amazing people and discovered a new part of the area I didn’t know existed”. Ana

“Spent the whole night engrossed in conversation with some seriously inspiring and talented people. Can’t wait for the next one!” Milena

“Such a wonderful evening. Really good to meet lots of other like-minded people in our Borough. Lovely to see some familiar faces too” Danni

“East Croydon Cool’s Winter Party was a Blast!” Justina

“Met so many interesting locals!” Chantelle

“Thanks for organising such a wonderful night. Loved meeting everyone!” Katie

“It was such a feel good event with lots of positive vibes” Bisade

“Such a fun evening, looking forward to the Spring Fling already!” Kate

The incredible double act that is Josephine and Mark (aka Olive Tree Productions) captured a brilliant video of the night (see below!) Big shout outs to Ambo, Manjit, Alexa and everyone else who provided soundbites for it (we’ve got a few more coming 😉). If you’re looking for videography services – be sure to check out their website.

Thank you to all the local businesses (Signal Brewery, Ludoquist, Socks and Sass, Ark and Hilton Croydon) who provided prizes for the “Find Someone Who…” game, and congrats again to all the winners. As Bob has always said – “it’s good to talk” 😉

Now, what shall we do for the Spring Party…?