By Poppy Stephenson, Stokes Croft StreetFest organiser

Have you ever dreamed about a joyful place with peace, prosperity and kindness for all mankind – a place in which we respect each other despite the differences in our culture, religion and way of life? Welcome to the beautiful cornerstone of Bristol known as Stokes Croft

Stokes Croft ended up grabbing headlines over the weekend, following the opening of Tesco’s. Emotions ran high for some people, as a result of the difference between our ideals. This led to grief and sorrow being inflicted on many innocent victims, by a few who abused the power of their convictions.

Let’s remember last year’s Streetfest, a beautiful celebration where, let’s face it, love and happiness pretty much emanated from everywhere.

Help us, the Stokes Croft Streetfest team recreate this. Let’s all actively choose peace and harmony on this day.

Let’s remember why we feel so passionately about the area and celebrate its beauty, diversity, creativity and tolerance, it’s a warm welcome to all.

Stokes Croft Streetfest is a day-long festival celebrating the cultural fertility of Stokes Croft as truly unique; a place of outstanding un-natural beauty, an urban garden blossoming with ideas, creativity and passion.  It’s about fun, positivity and revelry. It’s about having a damn good time.  People from all backgrounds, of all ages coming together for the shared enjoyment of music, dance and food. It’s about enjoying the safe, welcoming atmosphere, the smiles, the bright colours, the range of entertainment on offer. It’s about meeting people, making friends and getting involved.

Last year’s festival was a joyous affair as Stokes Croft hosts a fantastically diverse range of organisations, businesses and creative people that live, work and play here. It’s a living tapestry and the perfect backdrop to a festival organised by the community to show what people can achieve when they work together towards sustainable and positive regeneration. The Streetfest welcomes all the residents as well as visitors to the area and is designed to support local businesses, artists and community cohesion.

What makes Stokes Croft so magnificent is that it’s people-powered, with individuals and organisations all working in completely different ways to improve their environment as best they can one step at a time, ensuring the seeds of grass roots regeneration are able to take root and flourish. Its organic, evolving into the shape best fit for survival, for sustainability, rather than being engineered into a bleak quick fix dystopian image of somewhere else’s future. And this is important. Everyone can coexist here. Problems are not moved on, rather they are faced with the acknowledgement that we all as human beings have very different needs, desires and expectations of the city we call home. One size does not fit all, instead a wardrobe must contain many things for many people, and to be that it must be rich, diverse and full of variation. And it is this that we aim to celebrate and promote.

Within walking distance from just about anywhere in Bristol, Stokes Croft StreetFest is here for everyone. Bring your nan. Or your dog. Just make sure to arrive at midday, and if you’ve got the stamina, don’t go home til six am. There’s no need for a packed lunch because there will be veritable mountains of delicious nosh, but do bring your suncream and a smile.

At this hour of greatest unrest and turmoil in Stokes Croft, the greatest force to be reckoned with lies within our hearts — a force of love and tolerance for all.  We can resolve the greatest of our differences if we dare to have a constructive conversation with our enemy, whoever you might perceive that to be. We the people of Stokes Croft can lead the way, if each of us so choose, so please choose LOVE and come along and get involved.