Deptford in South East London will be staging the very cultural, and entirely free, Made in Deptford Festival to prove that there’s somewhat more to the area than most people would imagine. The Made in Deptford 2008 festival will be a celebration of art, design, dance, food and heritage.

The festival’s aim is to get people to recognise Deptford as one of the capital’s most vibrant communities (which is handily only seven minutes by train from London Bridge).

The Made in Deptford festival breaks into three sections; those of Heritage, Creativity and Cuisine. On the heritage front, Deptford’s maritime past will be brought to life with the Made in Deptford procession on Sunday 6th July. Mixing pirates, poets and South East End charm, you can see local dance acts, schools and community groups shaking their booty all along the high street.

The Creativity aspect of the Made in Deptford festival will see an open studios and galleries over the weekend, where you can be amazed and inspired by the sheer creativity within. Live music also makes up a great part of the yearly festival as loads of hot bands will be appearing at the Deptford's Open Air Live Music Event. Showcasing music from teh deptford, New Cross and Lewisham area, the winning band will be able to make a new demo with the help of Music Complex.

More music and films will be on offer at the Bird's Nest in Deptford as part of the celebrations, with the venue showing the best in new and young talent from the area. Short films, music, poetry and plays are all on the programme, making for a very artistic evening out.

And finally, if all that culture has given you an appetite, as part of the Made in Deptford festival local restaurants will be offering cookery demonstrations and visitors will be able to take part in Deptford’s gourmet food tour. Spanish tapas, an English fry up, Vietnamese and West African cuisines are just some of the delicious offerings on the Made in Deptford menu for 2008 at the Bird's Nest pub.

The Made in Deptford Festival takes place on the Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th July 2008. For more information on the events taking place and a full set of listings, click on the link below.