Mela 2007 UK Listings

July 2007

Sun 1 Jul

Bangladesh Mela 2007
Organizers are delighted to announce the 2007 Camden Bangladesh Mela in London’s Regent’s Park (Cumberland Green) on Sunday July 1st from 12.00pm - 7.00pm. The annual festival, one of 25 summer festivals supported by Camden Council, will celebrate the diversity of Bangladeshi community. It is also a cross-generational event which gives people of Bangladeshi origin the chance to celebrate their culture, traditional and contemporary. This event has grown from its inception in 1992 to become one of the most prestigious Bangladeshi cultural events in the London calendar, attracting an audience of over 20,000 people from all communities.
Regent’s Park, 12pm until 7pm, Adm: free, Tel: 0207 580 4576, www.camdenbangladeshmela.org

Sun 1 Jul

Havering Festival, Hornchurch Mela
The Hornchurch Mela, organised by the Muslim Women’s Association of Havering, will boast bhangra sounds from DJ’s, traditional dancing, drum beating, henna painting and exotic delicacies – filling the air with spices.
Queen’s Theatre Green, 11.30am until 6.30pm, Adm: free, Tel: 01708 434 343,
www.havering.gov.uk

Sun 2 Jul

Hall Green Mela, Birmingham
A Traditionally themed event with a large stage and musical performances. Stalls, traditional craft activities and funfair also on site.
Sarehole Mill Recreation Ground, 12pm until 6pm, Adm: free, Tel: 0121 702 2739,
www.birmingham.gov.uk

Fri 6 Jul - Sun 8 Jul

Reliance India Call Asian Lifestyle 2007
The Reliance India Call Asian Lifestyle 2007 is taking place once again in NEC, Birmingham and London’s illustrious Olympia, the Grand Hall. This prestigious venue is the ideal location for an event of this calibre, with ample parking and easy access by road and public transport. The Show encompassed all aspects of the South Asian community’s vibrant lifestyle. Asian and mainstream companies will have the unique opportunity to showcase their products and services in this lavish London venue to an affluent community, while offering the indigenous population the opportunity to experience the vibrancy of Asian culture.
London Olympia Grand Hall, 10am until 8pm, Adm: free, Tel: 0870 165 2005,
www.asianlifestyleshow.com

Sat 7 Jul & Sun 8 Jul

Bradford
The Bradford Mela 2006 attracted large crowds inspite of a few showers on Sunday. An estimated 117,000 over the two days enjoyed a wonderful mix of music and entertainment for all ages. The sites, sounds, delicious smells and warm, family friendly atmosphere made the Mela an unforgettable event.
Peel Park, Adm: free, Tel: 01274 432 111,
www.bradfordfestival.com

Sat 7 Jul

Fair on the Green
Community Event - over 70 community, charity and craft stalls, bouncy castle, Punch & Judy, Carousels, Main stage and Childrens Stage, Magician, Ventriloquist, Childrens Dancing Displays, Bands, Fire Eater, and numerous other activities all afternoon.
Parsons Green, Adm; free, Tel: 020 7731 3964, gwhittle@btinternet.com

Sat 7 Jul & Sun 8 Jul

Blackburn Mela
The Rishi Rich Project, featuring Jay Sean, Juggy D and Veronica headlines a musical programme that will include Arabic, African, Bhangra and Bollywood dancers. Other performers include Andrea, Jinx, Punjabi No 1, Shabz, Sabri Qawwal, Stereo Nation, Tariq Khan, plus Shukshider Shinda and his live band. The World Music flavour will continue with Blackburn’s very own Ghawazee Arabic dancers, plus a troupe of African dancers, Dhol drum players, and a multi-ethnic bagpipe band.
Witton Park, 12pm until 8pm, Adm: free, Tel: 01254 582 579, www.blackburn.gov.uk

Sun 8 Jul

Brent Respect Festival
Brent Respect Festival is a fun, friendly, family festival, that celebrates Brent’s talent and diversity in the setting of one of Brent’s finest parks. Brent has been organising a Respect Festival since 2003 to coincide with the Mayor of London’s Rise Week and it continues to be a vibrant event.
Roundwood Park, 1pm until 8pm, Adm: free, Tel: 020 8937 3119 creativedevelopment@brent.gov.uk

Sun 8 Jul

Under One Sky Festival, Harrow
Harrow’s open-air, multi-cultural festival. Spend the day having fun in the sun with dancing, music, skateboarding, international food-stalls, art exhibitions, community stalls, kabaddi, funfair and much, much more! The event on Sunday July 8th, 2007 promises to be a spectacular occasion for all the family, with headline acts, including the high profile grime scene artist Lethal B. Other top acts at the event include well-known bhangra act RSPV, rapper A C Terra, and jazz soul diva Cathy Edgar.Performances from local professional groups including the Harrow-based bhangra rock group Kismet, and prize winning youth, community and cultural groups will also be showcased at Under One Sky along with a range of other activities.The day will host a massive 1000-strong parade drawn from the traditions of carnival and featuring samba bands, dancers, carnival performers, dancers and hundreds of children from schools and playschemes around Harrow.There will be circus workshops, displays, visual arts workshops, exhibitions, kite-making, flying, soccer with Watford Football Club, tennis, trampolining, cricket, netball, Kabbadi, skate-board and BMX bike activity, a participatory mural wall, a World Food Tent and a fun-fair.
Kodak Recreation Ground, 12pm until 8pm, Tickets: Adults (£3) Children (£2), Tel: 0208 424 1803, www.visitharrow.co.uk

Sat 14 Jul

People’s Day
25,000 people can’t be wrong! Lewisham’s longest running community festival takes place every July in Mountsfield Park, Catford. This unique event, reflecting the Borough’s vibrant cosmopolitan community, showcases an eclectic mix of entertainment including music, dance and wonderful street theatre as well as children’s activities, sports, fashion shows and crafts. Add to that everything you ever wanted to know about your Council, local voluntary organisations, or health and education. Unmissable!
Mountsfield Park, 12pm until 6pm, Adm: free, Tel: 020 8314 7730.

Sat 14 Jul

Taste of Malaysia
Experience Malaysian cultural diversity and culinary delights. There is also a chance to win flight tickets to Malaysia.
Ilford Town Centre, 12pm until 4.30pm, Adm: free, Tel: Radziah (07949 123967) or Alison (020 8708 2858)

Sat 14 Jul

Lewisham People’s Day
People’s Day is the largest and longest running community festival in south-east London, which blends a varied professional arts programme with a first class showcase of diverse local talent. In addition, there will be international food stalls, a craft market and a wide range of displays and activities from organisations across Lewisham.
Mountsfield Park, 12pm until 6pm, Adm: free,Tel: 0208 314 7321, peoplesday@lewisham.gov.uk

Sun 15 Jul

Tunbridge Wells Mela 2007
The Mela celebrates the diversity of Tunbridge Wells though music, food and dance and is organised in partnership by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, Kent Police and North West Kent Racial Equality Council. Over 3000 people attended the Mela last year, and this over whelming response has led to a change to a bigger venue. The Mela aims to bring communities together, both existing and new, through the arts to celebrate the diversity of Tunbridge Wells. The borough has a population of 104,000 of whom less than 3% are from BME communities. Within this 3%, no individual group is particularly dominant so that all minority groups are relatively small. The Mela is developing into an inclusive international event reflecting the particular circumstances of the Tunbridge Wells community. Entry to the Mela is free, and in addition to performances on stage, there are a wide array of stalls selling food, and statutory and voluntary organisations promoting the work they deliver in the local community. Highlights at this year’s Mela include Rhythms of the City Samba Group, Four by Four Bhangra Group, Phase 5 Steel Band, Uzambezi as well as a wide range of community groups performing from Bollywood to Irish Dance, from Scottish Bagpipes to African Drumming. In addition there will be a schools outreach programme taking place in the build up to the Mela, which will climax in a series of culturally diverse performances by local schools on the day. The Mela will also have a wide range of stalls selling food from around the world, and there will be a wide of exhibitions including Kent Police, Kent Fire and Rescue and local community organisations including a Roman Gypsy wagon and craft stall.
Calverley Grounds, 12pm until 6pm, Adm: free, Tel: 01892 526 121, www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk

Sun 15 Jul

Nottingham Mela
An annual celebration of Asian culture with music, food and fun for all.
Forest Recreation Ground, 12pm until 8pm, Adm: free, Tel: 0115 915 2761,
www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Sun 15 Jul

Kirklees Mela 2007
Enjoy a day filled with fun for all the family with live music, stalls, food and a giant funfair.
Greenhead Park, 12pm until 6pm, Adm: free, Tel: 01484 222087,
glenis.burgess@kirklees.gov.uk

Sun 15 Jul

The Middlesbrough Mela
The event started in the town centre in 1991 and soon outgrew the venue and made a very positive move to Albert Park, right in the heart of the BEM community. The park has been the recipient of Heritage Lottery funding to restore it to its former glory and the event benefits from the spectacular back drop. Last year, Middlesbrough Mela attracted 27,000 people in a completely trouble free event.
Albert Park, 12pm until 7pm, Adm: free, Tel: 01642 729 138, www.middlesbrough.gov.uk

Sun 15 Jul

Croydon Summer Festival
Croydon Summer Festival is back with an African Caribbean Family Festival on Saturday 14 July and Croydon Mela on Sunday 15 July. Lloyd Park will once again be the venue for this exciting weekend of fun for the whole family. This year’s festival will feature three stages of live music, roaming street theatre, funfair rides, food stalls, a global market and a kids’ area.
Lloyd Park, 1pm until 8pm, Adm: free, Tel: 0208 760 5672,
www.croydonfestival.com

Sat 21 Jul – Sat 4 Aug

Gloucester Festival 2007 - Carnival Procession
Gloucester Festival begins with a fantastic carnival procession. The people of our city take to the streets for a spectacular display of stunning costumes and decor, music and performance in the annual Carnival Procession. This historic event is a colourful start to the festival fortnight.
Gloucester Park, Adm: free, Tel: 01452 522232,
www.gloucester.gov.uk.

Sun 22 Jul

Gloucester Festival 2007 - Multicultural Day
This is a free event for all the family, featuring performances, live music, dance, food and hands-on demonstrations from the city’s Afro Caribbean, Asian and Chinese communities
Gloucester Park, Adm: free, Tel: 01452 522232, www.gloucester.gov.uk

Fri 27 Jul – Sun 29 Jul

WOMAD
Our DJ line up will be rolling up in the Station Wagon. Watch Nerm, Friction and Pathaan as they pay homage to its decks. WOMAD Charlton Park will welcome an audience of 20,000, together with over seventy world-class artists from forty different countries. Each and every musical experience at the festival will be offered in its own special space – from main stage and high profile, to intimate and troubadour acoustic, our aim is to respond creatively to our new environment, engaging with the beautiful character of the place. Alongside the new attractions of Charlton Park, WOMAD’s familiar feast of entertainment and celebration will remain: brilliant live music; weekend camping; a full programme of participatory workshops for adults and children; Taste The World cookery sessions; late night dance, DJ’s and grooves at Club WOMAD; relaxed entertainment on Thursday evening; a children’s procession on Sunday; a chance to ‘shop around the world’ at over 250 international food, drink, arts, craft and merchandise stalls in our Global Village; sumptuous site decoration featuring hundreds of flags, projections, visual art and temporary structures; plus the unrivalled WOMAD atmosphere that our audience simply loves.
Charlton Park, 12pm until 8pm, Adm: varies, http://www.womad.org/

Sat 28 Jul

The Swindon Mela 2007
Billed as one of the cultural highlights of Swindon, the Swindon Mela in 2006 exceeded all expectations with over 17,000 people turning up to revel in the colour, aromas and delights of all things from the Asian sub continent. 2007 will be the 5th Swindon Mela and is set once again to bring the Town Gardens alive with a feast of sound colour and aromas. Live performances on three stages from some of the top names from the Asian entertainment scene featuring Bollywood and Bangra and much in between. There will also be a few surprises to make Swindon Mela 2007 one to be remembered.
Old Town Gardens, 12pm until 7pm, Adm: free, Tel: 01793 466565, www.swindonmela.com

Sat 28 – Sun 29 Jul

Manchester Summer Mega Mela
A celebration of Asian arts and culture with music, entertainment and performances from locally and internationally renowned artists, food and fashion, stalls and much more. Platt Fields Park, Rusholme.
Platt Fields Park, 1pm until 7pm, Adm: free, Tel: 0161 256 4518, www.manchestermela.co.uk

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