Field of Play was the inaugural community event held on Saturday 30th April 2016, to mark the anniversary of the final match played by Cambridge City FC at Milton Road Football Ground and to celebrate the new community at Mitchams Park.

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New residents, artists, the Crest Nicholson team, representatives of Cambridge City FC and members of the local community all came together to enjoy a wonderful selection of music, dance, drama and film. Those who attended also got to sample the delights of local catering from The Carpenters Arms and Thirsty Cambridge and learn about all the different aspects of the Kickstart project.

 

Activities that took place included: banner printing with Cary & Ricki Outis, sound activities with Frances Crow of Liminal, live music from Cambridge Sing! Choirs, Karen & Co and Simon Wright and an exclusive performance of ‘This is The Place’ by drama students from Chesterton Community College.

 

The assembled crowd joined in ‘The Man with The Whistle’; a new anthem composed by Jason Rowland in collaboration with members of the community, and blew whistles to accompany the reading of a poem written by award winning author and new resident, Ian Whybrow (see below). Members of the local Knit and Knatter group were also in attendance and one of the group even brought her own 100 year old football whistle which is the same make as the ones that have been installed in each new home on the development. 

 

We are delighted that there has been so much wonderful feedback from the day. Here are quotes from just some of those who attended:

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“We had such a great day on Saturday, I think everyone was bowled over by the success of the event and the positive feedback it generated amongst residents and all who attended! This event was so much more than just the launch of a new development. It was a truly wonderful afternoon which celebrated the power of art in bringing everyone together, helping create a sense of place and foster local pride.”

Zoe Chamberlain, Project Leader for the KickstART programme

 

“It was great to meet some of the residents at Mitchams Park, and to see how they joined up together to produce what was such a wonderful community event.”

Cllr Robert Dryden, the Mayor of Cambridge

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 “We understand the importance of celebrating the heritage of our developments. The event on Saturday was a huge success, and we hope the event will create a lasting legacy, not only for the residents of the new development, but for the wider Cambridge community who have been involved in this project. We will be working with Zoe to create permanent public art on-site which will take the form of an Active Landscape integrated into the development for residents to use as well as admire, keeping the spirit of the site alive - responding to the past whilst creating a high quality street scene that looks to the future.”

Peter Diffley, Managing Director at Crest Nicholson’s Eastern division

 

"Thank you for the lovely party yesterday - it was a wonderful way to kick off this new community."

New resident.

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On the left you will find more information about the Field of Play 2017 as well as the lyrics to 'The Man With the Whistle' - one of the key moments of the Field of Play event, the new anthem to celebrate the past, present and future of the Mitchams Park site, and Ian Whybrow's "...and now it's time to celebrate".

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