Camberwell’s annual Christmas event morphed into a wellbeing fair on Saturday, drawing hundreds of residents onto the Green.

The fair, themed around mental and physical issues, had its share of festive cheer but the focus was on wellbeing. Among the activities on offer were booths to help people quit smoking.

Christopher Niel, at the anti-smoking stall, said: “It’s needed, everyone of every age suffers from mental health issues and it’s horrible. We are a community that needs to look after each other, so events like this help bring awareness to these issues.”

Lucy Brown, who was visiting the fair with her two sons, said: “Everyone should be able to talk about their feelings, but it’s hard. Things like school pile up, and events like this ease the mood.”

Vital 5, a Southwark council scheme that identifies the five main causes of illness in their area, had a mobile unit at the fair. It gave out free advice and offered health check-ups as well as weigh-ins and blood pressure.

The event, which had children’s activities, such as seeing Santa and learning how to do magic tricks, also featured a station for older people to do arts and crafts. The NHS website says that the elderly often feel alone, with many not seeing any other person for months on end.

The fair, which tried to be as inclusive as possible, drew people of all ages. It also had stalls run by Camberwell Arts and charities such as St Giles, both prominent in the area.

Niel said that this “is the perfect time” to do a wellbeing fair. “It’s the holiday season and everyone should feel happy.”

But everyone may not be happy at this point of time, with the ongoing cost of living crisis. According to Mind, the mental health group: “Over a third of adults aged 16+ in the UK (36%) never make space in their day to speak about mental health.”

Neil said that the event, which ran for three hours from 11 am, should become an annual feature and it was to be hoped that Southwark continues to promote a better and healthier lifestyle.

However, some visitors said they did not feel the wellbeing fair was tackling the root cause of mental health issues. Some said that whilst the sentiment was nice, and it was a well thought out event, they did not feel as though it would make a huge difference when it came to the issue of people not looking after their wellbeing.

Although the weather may have been gloomy, with rain throughout the event, peoples’ spirits were still high as festive music played and free food was given out to attendees.