Kent Equality Cohesion Council

Tag: Ukelear Fallout

  • Maidstone Community Mela 2019

    Maidstone Community Mela 2019

    The Maidstone Community Mela in Whatman Park again proved to be popular with over 3000 attending the annual celebration of music, food and dance from around the world. The Mela which is organised by a small group of community partners and volunteers led by Kent Equality Cohesion Council, the Maidstone Cultural Group and Cohesion Plus has proven to be popular in the borough since 2003 despite the many challenges it has faced over recent years.

    The celebrations were formally launched by the Mayor of Maidstone Cllr Marian Ring, Deputy Lord Lieutenant Bill Cockcroft and Kent Equality Cohesion Council CEO Gurvinder Sandher. Those in attendance enjoyed a range of culturally diverse performances including Kent based Phase 5 Steel Band, Folk Band Ukelear Fallout, Maidstone Nepalese Community Group, Maidstone Malayalee Group and Kitka Bulgarian Folk Dance Troupe.

    A Particular highlight was the Cohesion Plus produced Folkin Fusion Collective a high energy show bringing together music and dance from North India and Southern Africa which featured Four by Four Bhangra and Uzambezi Arts. The Mela was headlined by the Kings of Motown who had everyone up and dancing to the classic Motown hits.

    Whilst off stage the arts activity continued with interactive performances by the Chinese Lions, interactive workshops in the World in the Tent which focused on Nepalese and Roma culture and heritage, and for the younger members of the audience there were free arts workshops delivered by LV21.

    The food stalls also proved to be very popular with Indian, Chinese, Nepalese cuisines being served alongside burgers, doughnuts and hot dogs with many selling out whilst the Prosecco bar also did brisk trade.

    Kent Equality Cohesion Council CEO Gurvinder Sandher commented “I am very proud of what we achieved in Maidstone this year. People do not always appreciate how small the team is that puts the Mela on, but all the hard work is worthwhile when you get so many people turning up and supporting us. The Maidstone Community Mela I believe is very important for Maidstone, its ethos is to use food, music and dance to bring communities together and celebrate all that binds us together. The Mela was set up in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and its message is just as important today as it was in 2003 when we first started. I have been involved with the Mela from the start and I am very keen to develop it further next year and we are keen to take it back to Mote Park if we can get a date and also raise the necessary funding.”

  • The Sun Shines on the Mela Festival 2018

    The Sun Shines on the Mela Festival 2018

    The sun shone brightly on Calverley Grounds for the 13th Tunbridge Wells Mela Festival which took place on July 1st. The Mela was organised in partnership by Cohesion Plus and the Kent Equality Cohesion Council with the support of Arts Council England. The free festival which celebrates the diversity of the borough through music, food and dance proved to be as popular as ever with thousands attending.

    The stage programme was particularly diverse with performances ranging from South Indian dance by Sahrudaya, to ukulele inspired Ukelear Fall Out, to the African inspired Drum Beat. They were joined by Tunbridge Wells very own Paul Dunton Orchestra and local reggae artist Jack Curtis. Well renowned Syrian artists Jamal and Alaa showcased the rich cultural history of a country torn apart by conflict. The Folkin Fusion Collective which was produced by Cohesion Plus and fused together street dance with traditional North Indian Dhol Drums and the African Djembe proved to be very popular. The Mela Festival was headlined by bhangra star PBN who had the crowd up and dancing to his hits before Mars Live performed the hits of Bruno Mars.

    Off stage the Chinese Lions entertained the audiences as did the Chappal an interactive show which was produced by Nutkhut and the Bureau of Silly Ideas and was part of the National Mela Partnership project that Cohesion Plus belong to. Alongside the entertainment there was an array of food including Indian, British, Thai, Chinese, Spanish, as well as doughnuts and fudge.

    There were also free artistic workshops for children to make Mela Festival badges and flags delivered by LV21. This proved to be very popular with young families and provided an excellent way for young people to experience the arts in a practical way.

    According to Gurvinder Sandher, the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council “I am really proud of what we achieved with the Mela Festival. Our work is about bringing communities together, to celebrate our shared values and this is an excellent example of this. I am very grateful to our partners and funders for working with us to enable the Mela Festival to develop as it has, to become one of the largest culturally diverse celebrations in Kent.”