On Saturday (15 July 2017) between 12 and 5pm in Cross Flatts Park, Beeston Festival will be celebrating everything that is good in the vibrant, diverse community of Beeston.
The Festival will celebrate this heritage through running a carnival parade in the park on the theme of “Unity in Diversity” with around 200 people expected to take part.
Carnival workshops have been held in the run-up to the Festival in local primary and secondary schools and with community groups including South Leeds Live at Home and Asha Neighbourhood Project. The parade will be based around rainbow colours, with people from all backgrounds participating, including the very young and the very old.
Now in its 23rd year, the Festival will host two live music stages; a dance arena; food from around the world and a bazaar of local organisations and sellers; as well as providing sports, games and activities for children and young people and a fairground.
The Festival continues its strong tradition of providing strong musical entertainment for Festivalgoers. Partnering with the Leeds Music Trust, the main stage will welcome Los Camaradas; Shooting Breaks; Pink Peg Slax, with ska and reggae band, Natural Rhythm headlining. Jas Chattha and dancers will be performing Bollywood and Bhangra dances throughout the afternoon, being joined at different points by local people who have been attending dance workshops in the months leading up to the Festival. Also this year, an “Emerge” stage will be home to local, young emerging bands including the Ormstons, Edgar Duke, Jabbawoki and Sounds like a Storm as well as bands from Castleton Primary School and Cockburn School.
Chair of the organising committee, Cllr Angela Gabriel said that this year the Festival was trying to find ways of enabling people to get involved more:
“We want the people of Beeston to feel that this is their Festival as much as possible. That is reflected in the activities we are putting on such as the den making and the pub tug of war amongst other things. We hope that the Festival will give local people something to be proud of!”
This year the Festival has been generously supported by Councillors on the Inner South Community Committee; Big Lottery Fund, Leeds Inspired; White Rose Office Park; Depuy Synthes, Unity Homes & Enterprise, Leeds Federated and LHA Car and Commercial Limited.
A full programme is available to download from the festival website: www.beestonfestival.org.uk
