Brockwell Park · Herne Hill · London SE24 · June · Pop
Mighty Hoopla: the outfits need a seat too
Mighty Hoopla is a pop festival in Brockwell Park where dressing up is not a fringe activity, it is most of the point. Wigs, feathers, platform boots, sequins and things that were assembled over several evenings. All of which takes up considerably more room in a vehicle than ordinary clothes do.
And wigs, and headpieces, and boots that cannot be worn for the journey. Sizing a vehicle for a Hoopla group means counting the outfits as well as the people, which is a conversation worth having at the booking stage rather than on the pavement.
What that means practically
Nobody warns you about the logistics of a costume until you are trying to fit six of them into a car.
Cannot be squashed
They need space above and beside, not a footwell. Tell us and we size up.
Often not worn en route
Which means a bag each, and somewhere for the bags to go.
Gets everywhere
Genuinely. It is worth knowing that a vehicle needing deep cleaning carries a charge.
Some groups prefer it
Travel in ordinary clothes, change near the park. It works well.
Kent to Brockwell Park
South London, and one of the closer festival sites to our patch.
| Pick-up area | Distance | Festival day journey |
|---|---|---|
| Bromley & Orpington | 7 miles | 30–55 min |
| Bexleyheath & Welling | 10 miles | 35–60 min |
| Sidcup & Bexley | 10 miles | 35–60 min |
| Dartford & Bluewater | 16 miles | 45–75 min |
| Sevenoaks & Tonbridge | 22 miles | 50–80 min |
| Gravesend & Northfleet | 22 miles | 55–85 min |
| Rochester & Chatham | 31 miles | 65–95 min |
| Maidstone & Aylesford | 32 miles | 65–100 min |
| Canterbury & Ashford | 55 miles | 90–125 min |
Brockwell Park hosts several festivals
Same park, several different events across the early summer. Check which one you have.
| Festival | When | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Cross the Tracks | May | Jazz, funk and soul. Older crowd, calmer day |
| Mighty Hoopla | June | Pop, camp and costumes. The loudest of the three |
| Field Day | Varies | Electronic, and it has not always been at Brockwell |
| Same park, same gates | SE24 | But different crowds and different vehicle requirements |
Planning a Mighty Hoopla
Tell us what you are wearing
This sounds like an odd thing for a transport company to ask and it is the single most useful piece of information for a Hoopla booking. Six people in full costume with headpieces do not fit a vehicle the way six people in jeans do. A minute of honesty at the booking stage means the right vehicle turns up, rather than a difficult conversation on the pavement at eleven in the morning.
Consider changing near the park
A good number of groups travel in ordinary clothes with the outfits in bags and change once they arrive. It makes the journey more comfortable, it protects the costume from an hour of sitting in it, and it means the platform boots go on at the gate rather than being endured through south London traffic.
Glitter is a genuine issue
We are not being po-faced about this. Glitter transfers to fabric and stays there, and a vehicle that needs a deep clean afterwards carries a charge, as it does after a muddy festival or a stag weekend. Nobody has ever minded being told in advance; people mind being told afterwards.
Brockwell Park hosts several festivals
Cross the Tracks in May, Mighty Hoopla in June, and Field Day has used the park too. Same postcode, same gates, and completely different crowds. Give us the festival name as well as the park, because a jazz and soul day and a pop dress-up day need different vehicle sizing even for the same head count.
Mighty Hoopla questions
Costumes, curfews and Brockwell Park.
Why do you ask about outfits?
Because six people in full costume with headpieces and platform boots do not fit a vehicle the way six people in ordinary clothes do. Telling us at booking means the right vehicle arrives.
Can we change when we get there?
Many groups do exactly that, travelling in ordinary clothes with the outfits in bags. It is more comfortable and it protects the costume from an hour of sitting in it.
Is glitter really a problem?
It transfers to fabric and stays there. A vehicle needing a deep clean afterwards carries a charge, the same as after a muddy festival, and we would rather say so in advance.
Where is Mighty Hoopla held?
Brockwell Park in Herne Hill, SE24, which is one of the closer festival sites to Kent at around thirty minutes from Bromley.
What other festivals use Brockwell Park?
Cross the Tracks in May and, in some years, Field Day. Same gates, very different crowds, so give us the festival name as well as the park.
What time does it finish?
Around ten or half past, under the park's licensing conditions. Everyone leaves within about twenty minutes of the curfew.
Where do you collect?
Back from the park gates on a road that is moving, usually a ten to fifteen minute walk through Herne Hill.
Is the fare fixed?
Yes, agreed at booking and unaffected by the traffic leaving afterwards.
London day festivals
Brockwell Park and the rest.