Thousands enjoy Chichester's Summer Street Party and Cross Market & More

The free event, organised by Chichester District Council, featured a variety of family friendly activities along West Street and on Cathedral Green.

New for this year were a NERF arena, a LEGO zone and an Alpaca petting area which all proved extremely popular with people of all ages. In addition, there was also face painting and bath bomb making plus children's games hosted by the Rotary Club of Chichester.

Local performers and artists entertained the crowds with feel-good dancing and music. Among those who took part were magician and children's entertainer, Nick Clark, while the Chichester Lindy Hoppers gave a positive and high-energy performance near the Market Cross. The Chichester BID also held their popular Fashion Show in North Street.

People were able to sit on deck chairs and soak up the atmosphere, while enjoying delicious food, while the artisan market provided a unique shopping experience, showcasing some of the best creatives, designers, makers and producers from the district. The range of high-quality goods included art, ceramics, jewellery, hand crafted toiletries and clothing.

Comments about the day included:

"Today's event was great, the music, dance and fun things for the kids, was best so far. It brought so much joy light and magic to the town."

"Thank you so much for an amazing day, it was really busy, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves."

"We attended as a family of four and wanted to feed back to you what a successful event it was. Our children particularly enjoyed the magic show, and all the games laid out by the charity Rotary." 

Councillor Harsha Desai, Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Growth, Economic Development, Communication, Licensing and Events, says: "This year's event went really well, and the new features we introduced were a big hit! We've received lots of positive feedback from those who attended, with people commenting on how good it was to have a free event in the middle of the city for families to enjoy.

"Although there was some heavy rain towards the end of the afternoon, thankfully the weather held for the event with sunshine for most of the day. I'd like to thank everyone who was involved with the event and to everyone who came along on the day.

"As part of our events strategy, the Summer Street Party is all about using different areas of the city centre and creating a fun and vibrant atmosphere which everyone can enjoy, as well as showcasing the amazing talent we have in our area from local artisans, traders, and entrepreneurs, singers, artists and more.

"We usually only use North Street and East Street for our events, so to see West Street and South Street being used in addition really added to the vibrancy of the event and meant that all the businesses around benefitted from it.

"We know from past years that the street party helps bring more footfall to the area. More people coming into the city centre means more people spending in the city's shops and eateries, which in turn helps support our local economy."

People are encouraged to share their photos with the council (opens new window) 

And people can also give their feedback about the event by filling in a short survey (opens new window) by 31 July.

People can find information about more events on our What's On section and by following the council's events and markets Facebook page (opens new window)

The council also issues its monthly newsletter initiatives+ which contains news and events for the district. People are encouraged to sign up

Date of Release: 9 July 2025                                                                  

Reference: 4491