Review: Medwards Garden Party

One of the biggest events of Suicide Sunday didn’t fail to disappoint.

| UPDATED £30 Alcohol Bar Cambridge charlie cheap Chocolate College cozy drink drinking society factory food free garden hog roast johns may May Week medwards murray edwards Music News party queue review sweets Tab

Tab Garden Party Rating: 4 stars

Medwards Garden Party was full of great, unpretentious fun that was impossible not to enjoy.  

The garden was beautifully decorated in a ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ theme, with candy-cane hanging from trees and lollipops lining pathways. Sweets Officer (yep, they actually had a Sweets Officer) Juliette Simon ensured that there were more bags of diabete-rific goodness lying throughout the party.

Organisers Mya Botcher and Tilly Johnston-Jones

Queuing to get in was a bit of a pain, with the line sprawling up the road nearly reaching Fitz. but the frustration soon wore off after a quick back-rub in the massage (yes massage) gazebo.

That’s one hellova lot of golden tickets…

Due to an emergency earlier in the day the event was half the size originally intended, causing quite a few bottlenecks in parts. But it didn’t matter – the smaller layout gave it a cosy atmosphere and meant that you never lost your friends for long.

A great selection of food stalls were scattered throughout the grounds. The committee kept it fun and in keeping with the theme, with oven baked pizza, hog roast and more on one side, and churros, crepes, ice cream and other treats on the other. The queues were pretty long, but it’s hard to imagine getting them much smaller for £30 a ticket.

Investigating the dance floor

The catering highlight had to be the well stocked bar. The committee kept it simple and unpretentious, the selection resembling a really good night in cindies rather than a swanky evening at the Ritz. It could probably have used a couple more portaloos though – all the free drinks meant that the toilet queues were a bit lengthy.

Guests were greeted by an array of three thousand  VKs of every lurid colour of the rainbow. Excited Freshers could be seen running back and forth with as many bottles of the sugary beverage as they could carry, delighting at how this round would have cost them £20 in any Cambridge club.

A world of pure imagination

Pints of beer and cider were constantly being poured by professional bar staff, meaning that there was virtually never a queue for alcohol (which seemed more important than rapid access to food on this May Week Sunday event.)

Major lashmen

For the classier guests a vast range of cocktails were spread across several tables, including G&Ts, Sex on the Beach and Tequila Sunrise.

The music stage had student bands throughout the afternoon, playing original music as well as covers of classics that everyone loved singing and dancing along to. Other entertainment included a shisha tent, a face painting stand, and a photo booth.

Cuttin’ shapes

Although the highlight was undoubtedly the inflatable fun on the tennis courts. The bouncy castle, inflatable race courses and bucking bronko gave the party a summer fete feel that tied in really well with the light-hearted “inner child” atmosphere.

While these were great fun, best try it before you’ve had too much to drink/eat – bucking bronko is not ideal when you’re already close to vomming…

Workers were industrious if rather unglamorous

The only real problem of the day was the weather but a mix of British stoicism and widespread inebriation meant that this didn’t affect guests’ fun for long.

At £30 a ticket Medwards Garden Party is the best value for money you can find in May Week (and you don’t even have to jelly wrestle anyone).

8/10