Newbury CultureFest magnet to thousands visitors
NEWBURY CultureFest 2014 proved a magnet to thousands of visitors on Saturday , who gathered together in a massive celebration of West Berkshire’s ethnic diversity.
More than 2,000 people attended the sixth festival at The Racecourse Newbury, alongside guests including West Berkshire Council chairman Jeff Beck, Newbury mayor Jo Day and Thatcham mayor Gary Johnson.
A wealth of exhibitions, workshops, stalls and crafts unfolded, with demonstrations of henna art, and soap, vegetable and fruit carving – including a watermelon carved to resemble the Queen.
An array of dance performances entertained the crowds including belly dance, Thai, Egyptian, Irish and Scottish dancing, alongside delectable world cuisine including Malaysian, Indian, Pakistani and Egyptian.
Culinary delights ranged from Brazilian crepes, Mexican tacos, Thai green curry and Afro- Caribbean puff-puffs, to cakes, cookies and macaroons for the sweet-toothed.
Bands also went down a storm, with numbers by Cuban group Son Guarachando and homegrown TLA (Three Letter Agency) with Odis ‘Voiceboy’ Palmer and a didgeridoo played on stage.
Drumming group Rhythm Works were also among the musical line up, performing on djembe, along with Indian drumming group Dholplayer Collective.
The main organiser, Waheeda Soomro, said it had proved by far the best CultureFest to date.
“People were dancing on the grass. It was like a mini Glastonbury.”
Newbury’s Eight Bells for Mental Health support group manned a refreshments stall, raising funds for the charity, thanks to provisions donated by Budgens, Wash Common and AJA Foods, world food stockists in Bartholomew Street.
Thanking the sponsors, Greenham Common Trust and Sovereign Housing, Mrs Soomro said without this financial support, the CultureFest with its free entry, would not be possible, with added thanks to teams of volunteers and to Catriona Ottner, who organised the indoor and outdoor performances.
The pressure is now on to make Newbury’s CultureFest 2015 even bigger. Mrs Soomro, however, was keeping plans under close wraps–but did reveal there would be a new dance performance added to the line-up.
CultureFest was a ‘seedling of an idea’ which Mrs Soomro grew from the West Berkshire Minority Ethnic Forum founded eight years ago, under the community interest company All2gether.
