Kent Equality Cohesion Council

Tag: Gravesend Eid Community Mela

  • Eid Community Mela

    Eid Community Mela

    The Fort Gardens in Gravesham saw over 1000 people attend the Eid Community Mela on Sunday 4th June. The Mela celebrations were produced by Kent Equality Cohesion Council and Cohesion Plus, working with Gravesend Skills Centre, Involve Kent and local community members. The ethos of the Mela was to celebrate Eid and bring communities together regardless of faith, ethnicity, gender and socio economic background.

    There was wide array of activity both on and off stage with civic guests such as the High Sheriff Nadra Ahmed MBE DL, Deputy Lieutenant Rosemary Dymond and Mayor of Gravesham Cllr Gurdip Bungar who all spoke at the celebrations and congratulated those marking the occasion.

    Off stage attendees were able to enjoy free musical workshops for young ages by the Playground Project, cricket workshops by Kent County Cricket Club working with Gravesham Cricket Club as well as face painting, fun fair and a range of food and community stalls including Kent Police, Rethink Mental Illness and Kent Fire and Rescue Service.

    Gurvinder Sandher MBE DL the CEO of KECC commented “Community cohesion is the absolute heart of everything we do, breaking down barriers and raising awareness to better promote understanding and unity. The Eid Community Mela was the embodiment of those ideals with the event being open to everyone regardless of faith. The event was a great way to bring everyone together to celebrate Eid in a fun and interactive way. We are thankful to everyone who attended and we look forward to putting on even bigger and better community celebrations in the future.”

    Khawar Khurshid from local company Gravesend Skills Centre who were one of the key community partners for the Mela commented “We were proud to support the Eid Community Mela. Eid is a special time for the Muslims around the world and this time it was made extra special for us in Gravesham as we were able to celebrate with all of our friends and colleagues at the Mela regardless of faith.”

  • The Sun shines on the Gravesend Eid Community Mela

    The Sun shines on the Gravesend Eid Community Mela

    Over 1000 people attended the Gravesend Eid Community Mela which took place at the Fort Gardens on Sunday June 12th.

    The community celebrations which were produced by Gravesend and Dartford Muslim Association, Shah Jalal Mosque and Cohesion Plus working with Kent Equality Cohesion Council featured an array of activity.

    Highlights included a range of food stalls with food from the Indian Sub-continent, charity cakes stalls, henna, face painting, a fun fair and information stands from partners including Rethink Sahayak, Kent Police, Citizens Advice and Kent Fire and Rescue Service.

    There was a programme of stage entertainment which featured Raag Qawwali Group, the Kings of Dhol, Lethal Soundz and a Kurdish Cultural Dance performance.

    Guests who attended and spoke at the event included Dr Vasudaven the Deputy Lord Lieutenant, the Mayor of Gravesham Cllr Scollard and Civic Mayor of Lewisham Cllr Anwar. They were joined by District Commander for Gravesham and Dartford Chief Inspector Lay from Kent Police and Cllr Mochrie-Cox the Cabinet Member for Communities at Gravesham Borough Council.

    Bilal Farooq, the Chairman of the Gravesend and Dartford Muslim Association commented, “We are really proud of what we were able to achieve. The sun really did shine on us and I have been over whelmed with the positive feedback I have received. The whole purpose of the celebrations were to bring the communities together regardless of faith and background and celebrate the auspicious occasion of Eid which is very important to the Muslim community. This is the largest Eid celebrations we have planned to date and we are grateful to all of our partners and volunteers who made this possible.”

    Gurvinder Sandher MBE the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council commented “We have a long and proud history of working in partnership with the Gravesham and Dartford Muslim Association going back over 2 decades. This was our most ambitious event to date and I am so pleased that all the hard work everyone put in has paid off. Celebrations like this provide opportunities for everyone to come together and have positive shared experiences and celebrate all that binds us together as members of the local community.”

    The event was part funded by EK360 Listening Project, Kent Equality Cohesion Council, Cohesion Plus, Gravesham Borough Council Gravesend and Dartford Muslim Association and Shah Jalal Mosque.