Kent Equality Cohesion Council

Tag: Stilt Batteristas

  • 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.”

  • KECC delighted to support Swale Fusion Festival of Light 2018

    KECC delighted to support Swale Fusion Festival of Light 2018

    Kent Equality Cohesion Council is delighted to be working in partnership with Swale Borough Council and Cohesion Plus on the forthcoming Swale Fusion Festival of Light which will be taking place on Friday October 12th.

    The festival celebrates the core values of respect, excellence, friendship and equality and features a lantern parade with local schools taking part, a culturally diverse artistic programme and a firework finale.

    The programme will commence on Sittingbourne High Street at 6pm with performances from Folkin Fusion Drumming Collective, Bloco Fogo Samba and the Stilt Batteristas. The lantern parade will make its way from Sittingbourne High Street through Roman Square before finishing at Albany Park where the festival will climax with a firework display at 7.15pm.

    Gurvinder Sandher the CEO of KECC commented “In this current difficult economic climate especially for voluntary sector organisations like ourselves, I am really pleased that we have been able to work with local partners to put together the Swale Fusion Festival of Light. Events like this are more important than ever and the positive response we have already had from local schools and partners underlines the importance of celebrating our shared values and using opportunities that festival like this afford, to bring communities together.”