Kent Equality Cohesion Council

Tag: Bloco Fogo Samba

  • Dartford Festival of Light brings community together

    Dartford Festival of Light brings community together

    Dartford Festival of Light brings community together

    The Dartford Festival of Light, held on Friday 21 November, welcomed record numbers of local residents who turned out to celebrate despite the cold weather. A much-loved highlight in the town’s cultural calendar, the festival once again delivered an uplifting evening of colour, creativity, and community spirit.

    The Festival featured 14 local schools. In the weeks leading up to the event, pupils worked closely with Same Sky to design and create unique lanterns around the inspiring themes of unity, solidarity, and community. The lanterns illuminated Dartford Town Centre as families, friends, and neighbours walked together in celebration. They were joined in the parade by a number of Kent based acts who proved to be popular with the audience DDFK Brass Band, Bloco Fogo Samba, Kings of Dhol, and dynamic lit up Stilt Walkers.

    The parade climaxed in Central Park where a spectacular firework display took place following short speeches by the Leader of Dartford Borough Council Jeremy Kite MBE, Deputy Lieutenant of Kent Kelvin Holford, Deputy Mayor of Dartford Avtar Sandhu MBE and Jim Dixon MP.

    The Festival was delivered in partnership with Cohesion Plus and Dartford Borough Council and was supported by Arts Council England, KKB Group, and Uden Funeral Services.

    According to Gurvinder Sandher MBE DL, CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council “It is vital that events like the Festival of Light continue to take place as a means of bringing the diverse residents of Dartford together to celebrate what unities us a community and to celebrate our shared values. I am proud of what we have achieved working in partnership and am really grateful to the local schools for their ongoing support and participation in our work.”

  • Wrotham Festival of Light brings colour for another year

    Wrotham Festival of Light brings colour for another year

    Wrotham Festival of Light brings colour for another year

    The coming of another autumn marked the return of the annual and much loved Wrotham Festival of Light on Friday 11th October. The festival, which every year attracts hundreds of attendees from the local village and surrounding areas is now in its 11th year is still popular as ever.

    The event was organised in partnership by Cohesion Plus, Kent Equality Cohesion Council, Saint Georges Primary School and Same Sky Arts. It was supported by Arts Council England and Wrotham Parish Council.

    The village was transformed with an array of colourful light installations around the theme of wildlife which attendees were able to interact and take photos with. The main attraction was the vibrant lantern parade which featured musical acts such as the Kings of Dhol, internationally renowned Dhol drumming troupe who are experts in the percussion which hails from North India as well as Bloco Fogo Samba who brought the sounds of the Brazilian carnival to the celebrations.

    The crowds were also entertained by The Charlie Chaplin Show, a popular street act hailing from Covent Garden and usually performed on the South Bank circuit.

    The lantern parade was led by the Mayor of Tonbridge and Malling Cllr Steve Hammond and Deputy Lieutenant Louise Bryant and the Headteacher of Saint George’s Primary School Wrotham Elizabeth Rye. They were followed by hundreds of children parents and guardians as the parade made its way up from the Saint George’s Church to the cricket ground. Once at the cricket ground there was spectacular fireworks display provided by local business Phoenix Fireworks which drew loud applause from those in attendance.

    Gurvinder Sandher MBE DL the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council commented “I am so proud of what we were able to achieve working in partnership. As a nation we have had a testing few months with the riots in the summer a recent memory. Events like this show what can be achieved when we all work together for the better good and celebrate what unites us rather than divides us. I am proud of how the Wrotham Festival of Light has developed over the years and how many local residents come out to support it every year regardless of age, background or faith.”

  • Gravesham Fusion Festival Proves Popular

    Gravesham Fusion Festival Proves Popular

    Kent Equality Cohesion Council were proud to be partners for the Fusion Festival which came to Gravesend Town Centre on Saturday June 15. The pop up street festival showcased a range of artists and art forms including a roaming elephant, dancing lions, mime artists, samba, bhangra, brass, choir and calypso.

    The aim of the festival was to bring culturally diverse arts to the heart of local communities and to showcase new performances especially in an area like Gravesham which has had traditionally low levels of engagement with the arts.

    The Festival also saw the premiere of Cohesion Plus’s new production working with Festive Road the “Dancing Maharaja’s“. Other highlights included performances by Bloco Fogo Samba, No Street Limit Band, Dancing Chinese Lions and the Rock Choir as well as stilt walkers, mime artists and LV21 who delivered interactive arts workshops for young people.

    The festival was organised by Cohesion Plus working in partnership with Kent Equality Cohesion Council, and was supported by Gravesham Borough Council and Arts Council England.

  • Gravesham shines during the annual Christmas Festival of Lights

    Gravesham shines during the annual Christmas Festival of Lights

    Gravesend Town Centre was brought to a halt with a spectacular lantern parade as part of the Gravesham Festival of Christmas Lights on Friday 16th November which incorporated the switching on of the town’s Christmas Lights. The celebrations were organised by Kent Equality Cohesion Council working in partnership with Cohesion Plus and Gravesham Borough Council.

    Some 3,500 from across 11 schools enjoyed the lantern parade led by partners and representatives from various faith and community organisations.

    Entertainment was provided by Crocodile Style Brass, Knights Academy, Folk in Fusion Drumming Santas, Stilt Batteristas and Bloco Fogo Samba. The parade was led by a giant Garuda Bird called Shanti which was specially lit up for the occasion. The Christmas Lights were switched on in the Town Centre as the parade passed by.

    Gurvinder Sandher the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council commented “A key element of our work is to bring communities together and celebrate our shared British values. This festival is a great example of this. It also showcases how the arts are a positive tool in terms of community engagement and outreach with diverse communities. We are very grateful to all our partners for their support with this project and I am very proud of how we have been able to develop the festival over the last few years so that now it is one of the highlights of the local community calendar.”

  • KECC Celebrate 10 Years of the Dartford Festival of Light

    KECC Celebrate 10 Years of the Dartford Festival of Light

    Kent Equality Cohesion Council was proud to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Dartford Festival of Light on Friday October 19th. Around 1500 people participated in the community festival which celebrates the values of respect, excellence, friendship and equality. Working in partnership with Dartford Borough Council and Cohesion Plus, the event proved to be as popular as ever and was a great showcase of the fantastic artwork which young people from 8 local schools had created working with Same Sky.

    The festival included performances on One Bell Corner by the Folk in Fusion Drumming Collective, Bloco Fogo Samba and the Stilt Batteristas. They were joined by Hilary the Triceratops who roamed the High Street interacting with members of the public. There was then a lantern parade featuring local schools which was led by the Mayor of Dartford Cllr David Mote, Leader of Dartford Borough Council Cllr Jeremy Kite MBE and Lak Heer from the Bostall Group who was the event sponsor. The parade went from the High Street via Suffolk Road into the Orchards Shopping Centre, left out towards Holy Trinity Church before climaxing in Central Park. The entrance in Central Park was especially lit up for the occasions with lanterns as was the area around the Band Stand.

    The celebrations climaxed with a presentation to local schools to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Festival and a colourful fireworks display.

    Gurvinder Sandher, the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council commented “I am very proud of what we have achieved with the Dartford Festival of Light. The whole ethos of the event is to bring communities together and celebrate our shared values and is an event that the community of Dartford should be proud of. I hope that we can continue to evolve the festival and get more and more people involved.”

  • Swale Light Festival Spectacular

    Swale Light Festival Spectacular

    KECC was pleased to have been a partner on the Swale Fusion Festival of Light which took place on Friday October 12th in Sittingbourne working with Swale Borough Council and Cohesion Plus. The aim of the festival was to support community cohesion and celebrate shared British values shinning a light on the things that bind us together.

    The Festival began in Sittingbourne High Street with spectacular performances from Bloco Fogo Samba, the Folk in Fusion Drumming Collective and the Stilt Batteristas which were enjoyed by the Chief Guests Deputy Lord Lieutenant Paul Auston and Deputy Mayor of Swale Cllr Ken Ingleton.

    The Festival then continued with a special lantern parade featuring local residents and 8 local schools that had created lanterns around the values of respect, excellence, friendship and equality.

    The celebrations climaxed in Albany Park which was specially decorated for the evening with ocean themed lights with a spectacular firework display.

    Gurvinder Sandher the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council commented “It was exhilarating to see so many people come together to not only celebrate the Festival but also our shared values that bind us together as a community. Seeing the smiles on people’s faces as the parade made its way through the town centre and their reaction to the musicians made all the hard work worthwhile. I just hope that we can raise the funds to deliver the event again next year working in partnership with Swale Borough Council.”

  • Wrotham Festival of Light success

    Wrotham Festival of Light success

    The rural village of Wrotham once again played host to the 6th Wrotham Festival of Light organised in partnership by Kent Equality Cohesion Council, Cohesion Plus and Saint Georges Primary School.

    The festival was kicked off by a range of vibrant performances outside Saint George’s Church from the likes of the Stilt Batteristas, Cohesion Plus produced Folk in Fusion Drumming Collective and Bloco Fogo Samba.

    The Lantern Light Parade then began making its way from Saint George’s Church up through the village and finishing at the Cricket Ground where crowds were able to enjoy the annual fireworks display produced by Phoenix.

    The parade featured 4 local schools and some 500 people who had worked with Same Sky Arts to create colourful lanterns which were lit and displayed during the parade. Those taking part in the parade were joined by the bands who brought a carnival vibe to the festival.

    Gurvinder Sandher the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council commented “Working across rural and urban settings is important to us as the main ethos of our work is to bring communities together. We are always proud of the way the communities of Wrotham embrace the Festival of Light and it only seems to grow from strength to strength. It is important that we continue to work across rural and urban Kent promoting and celebrating shared values and I would like to thank all those who took the time to come and support the celebrations.”

  • Christmas Celebrations Prove Popular in Gravesham

    Christmas Celebrations Prove Popular in Gravesham

    After months of hard work thousands of people filled Gravesend Town Centre to enjoy a Christmas inspired celebration.

    Cohesion Plus working in partnership with Kent Equality Cohesion Council and Gravesham Borough Council supported by Arts Council England organised the Gravesham Festival of Christmas Light element of the Gravesham Christmas Lights Switch on. This featured 12 local schools and a parade of over 1200 people from across the borough. They were accompanied by Christmas Mime Elves, Santa and his helpers on stilts, Bloco Fogo Samba, Crocodile Brass Band, the Black Knights and the Four by Four Dhol Drummers.

    In the build up to the event some 550 young people from across the borough benefited from free creative arts workshops working with Same Sky Arts on the Christmas Lanterns. The schools who took part in the celebrations were Ifield, Kings Farm, St Botolph’s, St Johns Primary, St George’s, Northfleet Girls, Holy Trinity, Cecil Road, Riverview Infants, Riverview Juniors, Northfleet Technology College and Painters Ash

    The parade led by the Mayor of Gravesham Cllr Greta Goatley started off from the St George’s Shopping Centre and went through New Road, up Windmill Street and culminated on Community Square where the Christmas Tree was switched on following performances by the Gravesham Pantomime Cast of Jack and the Beanstalk.

    Gurvinder Sandher the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council said “I am really pleased with how the celebrations went. The event was a great spectacle and an example of how the arts can be used to promote cohesion and bringing diverse communities together. I strongly believe that Christmas should be celebrated widely and should be used like we have done with this event as a way of celebrating our positive community relations.”

  • Tunbridge Wells Mela Festival a Hit

    Tunbridge Wells Mela Festival a Hit

    The 10th Tunbridge Wells Mela Festival which celebrated the diversity of the borough through music, food and dance at Calverley Grounds proved to be popular with the local community. The Mela was organised in partnership by Cohesion Plus Kent, Sue Latham Events and the Kent Equality Cohesion Council.

    KECC have been involved in the Mela since its inception and were very proud as an organization to have managed to get the Mela to this important milestone.

    A range of culturally diverse artists the majority of whom were base in Kent performed at the Mela including the Bollywood Brass Band, Four by Four Bhangra Group, Bloco Fogo Samba Group, Bulgarian folk dance group Kitka, local band Sean Fennessey and Friends, popular Bangladeshi star Nurjahan Shilpi, African ensemble Uzambezi, the Paul Dunton Orchestra, bellydancng troupe Anaconda and leading Ed Sheeran tribute Jack Sheppard.

    Alongside the exciting stage programme there was also a creative arts zone where LV21 Arts put together the Changing Audiences piece of art, with members of the public dressing up wooden models to create an additional audience. While Eric MacLennan’s new piece of work “Voyage around my Bedroom”also proved to be very popular with people queuing to take part. In addition the popular Nutkhut Stilt Walkers had the audience up, laughing and dancing throughout the day.

    Gurvinder Sandher the CEO of KECC commented “I was very pleased with how the Mela was received. There has lots of positive feedback which makes all the struggles to raise the funds and the hard work which starts some 6 months before well worthwhile. I would like to pay credit to all our community partners who had not given up on the Mela and supported us and encouraged us to make the Mela happen. If this does prove to be the last Mela that we are involved with in Tunbridge Wells I am glad that we went out on such a positive note. Events like this bring diverse communities together and allow us to promote our shared British values and showcase excellent local talent. “

  • Gravesham Fusion Festival 4th Jul 2015

    Gravesham Fusion Festival 4th Jul 2015

    The Fusion Festival which was organised by Cohesion Plus and Kent Equality Cohesion Council with the support of Gravesham Borough Council and KCC Arts Development Unit provided to be popular and saw a number of new and emerging acts performing. These included local band What, a drama by young children from Gravesham especially prepared for the festival by 2B Scene Theatre Company, leading African vocal ensemble Uzambezi, emerging female bhangra star Sarika Gill, popular Bulgarian Folk Group Kitka and Slovakian band Gejza.

    The Fusion Festival took place alongside the 169th Town Annual Town Regatta, Gravesham Summer Queen and the Northfleet Carnival.

    The festival also say the premier of “Samba Bhangra Beats” an exciting new performance co-produced by Cohesion Plus working with the Bollywood Brass Band, Four by Four Bhangra Group and Bloco Fogo Samba. This proved to be a particular highlight and underlined the theme of the Fusion Festival to use the arts bring communities together and promote cohesion and understanding.

    Headline acts bhangra star Jassi Sidhu and Sam Smith tribute Joe Scripps also proved very popular and had the audiences up and dancing with their repertoire of hits.

    In addition to the stage programme there was some exciting creative arts taking place off stage which was delivered by LV21 Arts which proved to be very popular while Nutkhut performed a series of walkabouts dressed as Bollywood stars on stilts.

    Gurvinder Sandher the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council commented “I was very pleased with the support that we received form the local community for the Fusion Festival. It was a great family day out and the performances by all the artists were really enjoyed by the audience. We are committed to promoting our shared values and events like this bring the community together as one to celebrate all that unites us. I am also very grateful for all the support provided by our partners both in the build and on the day itself and look forward to working with them on creating an even bigger and better festival next year.”