The Festival of Light has been organised by Cohesion Plus in partnership with North West Kent REC with the support of Gravesham Borough Council and Kent County Council.

There will be 2 parades starting simultaneously at 6.30pm.  Procession 1 will forms up outside the Saint George’s Centre entrance opposite the Tesco store in New Road, while Procession 2 will forms up at the St George’s Day Centre entrance next to the Towncentric offices, heading westwards along Jury Street then right (southbound) into High Street.  Both parades will then meet up at the cross junction outside the old Woolworth’s store before processing up Windmill Street to the Woodville Halls where the event will climax.  The children will be joined in the parade by Bloco Fogo Samba Group, Blazing Brass, Four by Four Bhangra Group and Lucky Moyo African Drummers.

Once the parade finishes there will be a special event for participants and parents only in the Woodville Halls which will involve live music and dance performances as well as a wide range of activities for young people to take part in.

The aim of the Festival of Light is to bring the communities of Gravesham together through the arts, and has been inspired by the Cultural Olympiad which promotes the Olympic values of excellence, respect and friendship and the Paralympics values of empower, achieve and inspire.

According to Gurvinder Sandher the Director of Cohesion Plus who is co-ordinating the event “The vision of all the partners involved in this event is to make the Festival of Light an established date in the Gravesham calendar.  It is an opportunity for young people to come together through the arts and learn, respect and inspire one another.  My inspiration for this was the London 2012 Games and I hope that the Festival can get bigger and better each year as we close in on 2012.  I would also like to say a special thanks to my colleagues at North West Kent REC, Gravesham Borough Council, Kent County Council and Kent Police for their help in the build up to the event”

Work had been taking place in local schools over the last month to prepare special visual arts and craft displays which were used during the parade which was be led by the Premier Brass Band and the Cultural Beats Project who played their dhol drums. The focal point of the parade was a model of Saint George which has been made by local children in conjunction with the arts company Samesky who had been delivering events in the schools in the build up to the event.

The aim of the parade was to celebrate the patron Saint of England and the diversity of the borough through music and visual arts. The parade went through the packed streets of Maidstone Town Centre where hundreds of people had come out to support the children and wave the flag of Saint George. The parade concluded at Brenchley Gardens where the flag of Saint George was raised by the Mayor of Maidstone Cllr, Denise Joy.

Gurvinder Sandher the Director Cohesion Plus who co-ordinated the event which was one of the biggest taking place on Saint George’s Day itself in Kent said “I am really pleased with how the whole event well. Everything seemed to go to plan from the weather to the schools to the positive reaction from the members of the public. It is clear that there is a real interest in celebrating St George’s Day here in Maidstone and I look forward to putting on something even bigger next year. I would also like to thank all our partners for all their help and support including North West Kent Racial Equality Council, Maidstone Borough Council and Kent County Council.”

Dev Sharma MBE the Director of North West Kent Racial Equality Council said “The feedback that we have received is really positive. Saint George’s Day is a very important day in the calendar and events like this show how it can be used as a means of bringing the different communities together. We hope that other towns can learn from the positive work which has taken place in Maidstone.”

Here is a photo gallery of the fantastic day of celebration. Click on the thumbnails to view or use the PicLens viewer for a bigger experience.

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The artistic theme of this year’s Mela was to showcase some of the best young talent in the bhangra and urban fusion. Highlights at this years Mela included performances by Bhangra Superstar Aman Hayer who performed exclusive tracks from his new album Ground Shaker 2, DJ H and DJ Rags who performed from their number 1 album Reloaded, XS Bass, Wasted Grace Dance Theatre , the Cultural Beats Project and the ever popular Four by Four Bhangra Group.

A particular highlight on the day was the special fusion performance created by Four by Four Bhangra and Wasted Grace which was developed by Cohesion Plus to bring together contemporary dance theatre with urban street dance and traditional bhangra.

Alongside the performances on stage there were also be displays and information available on a wide range of local services including Kent Police, Kent Fire & Rescue Service, the Environment Agency, Rethink Sahayak, Dance in Kent and the British Lung Foundation.

Dev Sharma MBE the Director of North West Kent Racial Equality Council commented “I was very pleased with how the Mela went.  This event compliments our other work around the county to promote community cohesion through music and dance.  There was a wide range of culturally diverse artists performing and I have had very positive feedback from a lot of people who attended the event.  I hope that we can develop an even bigger Mela for Dartford next year”

Gurvinder Sandher the Artistic Director of Cohesion Plus commented “This year we tried a specific theme namely showcasing cutting edge contemporary fusion artists and the response has been very positive.  I was particularly pleased that the fusion piece and I am looking to build upon this in 2009.  Our ultimate ambition is to take the Mela outdoors like our other similar events around the County and we look forward to working with our partners to make this happen in the very near future”

Bill Singh from Four by Four Bhangra Youth Club commented “We were very pleased with the positive response the young people received from the audience.  This event is an excellent way of showcasing some of the excellent artistic talent there is locally.  We hope that after this Mela more people will be inspired to participate in the arts”

Everyone is keen to see what exciting artists and performances the 2009 Dartford Mela will have on offer for the crowds. Who will no doubt be supporting the Mela as they have been since 2003, when the first Mela took place in Dartford.

Here is the photo gallery from the 2008 Dartford Mela. Click on the thumbnails to view or use the PicLens viewer for a slideshow experience of the gallery.

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The schools involved were :

Riverview Junior
St Johns Comprehensive
St Johns Primary
St Georges Comprehensive
Northfleet School for Girls
Meopham Primary
Thamesview Comprehensive
Holy Trinity Primary
Chantry Primary
Wrotham Road Primary
Dover Road Primary
Northfleet Technology College

The parade also featured the Bloco Fogo Samba Group, Four by Four Bhangra, Cultural Beats and Northfleet Brass Band.  The children carried lanterns and torches which they have made themselves in special workshops which were delivered by renowned arts company Samesky.

Bill Singh from the Cultural Beats Project said  ”A lot of hard work went into organising the Festival but it was worth it to see the reaction on the young people’s faces during the parade.  It was also very positive to see the support we received from members of the local community who stopped to watch the parade and support the young people involved.  I very much look forward to working on next year’s event”

Once the parade arrived at the Fort Gardens the Cultural Olympiad was officially launched by the Mayor of Gravesham Councillor Ken Jones in a special ceremony which saw the London 2012 flag raised.  There then followed a stage programme with performances across the age spectrum including Cultural Beats, Four by Four, Lethal Soundz and Bloco Fogo.  The whole event culminated with a fireworks display which the audience really enjoyed.

According to Gurvinder Sandher who organised the event “I was really pleased with how the whole event went.  For me it highlighted the positive contribution young people make in our borough and how events like this help to promote community relations.  I feel that this is now the start of our journey to London 2012 and I already have plans to organise something even bigger next year as part of the Cultural Olympiad.  I have really appreciated the input of all the local schools and our partners including Gravesham Borough Council and Kent County Council in enabling this to happen”

Share the experience of the event by viewing the photos below. Click on the thumbnails or use the PicLens viewer for a slideshow view.