A one-day festival of world music, dance and food is coming to Lord Derby Academy in Huyton on Saturday 24 June. Global Roots Fest is a vibrant celebration of cultures from around the world and the diverse communities living in Knowsley.
There will be performances throughout the day including traditional Indian, Middle Eastern, North, and West African music and dance with performances from Ganesh Hindu Temple and world dance company Movema, music from Moulana Music Academy as well as performances from Ukrainian dance groups Radist and Ukrania, featuring traditional music and costumes.
Scouse-Yemeni poet Amina Atiq will deliver a spoken word performance of a new poem created especially for the event, which will be accompanied by a physical theatre performance produced by Knowsley Young Producer Mariana Pires, Ukranian dancer Polina Sharapova, and young people from Stockbridge Village.
It’s a day for the whole family to enjoy, with an arts and crafts workshop lead by artist Nayna Lad, as well as face painting, a bouncy castle and an indoor maker’s market. There will also be food available from Liverpool’s first and only Greek food truck, So Greek Full and a soft drink and mocktail bar operated by Prescot’s Eden Bar & Garden
The event has been produced by Culture Knowsley in collaboration with the Knowsley Young Producers, a multi-disciplinary collective of young people from across the Liverpool City Region who have come together as part of Knowsley’s Borough of Culture legacy.
Cllr Shelley Powell, Knowsley Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods said:” Knowsley is a vibrant and thriving community, with people from all over the globe choosing to live here. This event celebrates our diversity and gives people an opportunity to discover a little bit more about the many different cultures we have here in the borough.”
Global Roots Fest been made possible thanks to National Lottery Players with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund as well as funding from ForHousing and Awesome Liverpool.
Global Roots Fest takes place on Saturday 24 June from 11am – 6pm at Lord Derby Academy, Seel Road, Huyton, Liverpool L36 6DG
Performance Programme:
Knowsley Young Producer Mariana Pires Presents… Finding Refuge
A physical theatre and spoken word performance by Knowsley performing arts students and Scouse-Yemeni poet, Amina Atiq. Amina is a freelance creative working across the cultural and educational sector, a published poet, performance artist and practitioner. An award-winning community activist and anti-racism advisor for Curious Minds and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Theatres. The performance has been choreographed by Knowsley Young Producer Mariana Pires and Ukrainian dancer, Polina Sharapova who recently performed at Eurofest in Liverpool
Performances at: 11.15am – 11.20am and 12.30pm – 12.35pm
Kirkby Ganesh Hindu Temple Presents…
Live music performance on Indian Thavil Drums with a solo singer will be followed by a Bharatanatyam dance performance – an ancient Indian classical dance.At the end of the dance performance the dancers will invite the audience to come and learn some Indian dance moves in an informal 20-minute dance workshop.
11.30am – 11.45 – Music Performance
11.45am – 12.10 – Dance Performance
12.10am – 12.30 – Dance Workshop
Syrian British Cultural Centre CIC (Merseyside) Presents…
Live traditional music and dance performances.Audiences will be invited to learn ‘Dabka’, a Middle Eastern folk dance which combines circle and line dancing and is performed at joyous occasions.
1.00pm – 1.45pm: Live Syrian Folk Music & Dance
1.45pm – 2.15pm: Dabka Dance Workshop
Iranian Liverpool Community Presents …
ILC are a registered charity who support refugees and asylum seekers through a weekly food bank, providing hot food, clothes, furniture and more to those in need. They also provide weekly English language classes, female empowerment and sports classes, British cultural integration classes, and organise cultural events and other wellbeing activities. They are a key point of contact for Turkish, Iranian, Tajik, Afghan, Turkish and Arabic people living in Merseyside and have over forty volunteers.
2.35pm – 3.15pm: Live music performance from Moulana Music Academy and an Iranian folk-dance performance.
Big Help Project Presents…
Traditional dance performances from Ukrainian dance groups Radist and Ukrania
Performances at 3.35pm & 3.40pm
Movema Presents…
A West African dance performance and 25-minute dance workshop. Movema is an award-winning world dance company run by four female artists from diverse cultural backgrounds. At the end of the performance, the audience will have the opportunity to come up and learn some West African dance moves.
Performance and workshop – 4.00pm – 4.30pm
Global Roots Fest Presents…
A four-piece folk music ensemble led by Sudanese artist and Liverpool Hope University masters student Mo Shabaka.
Performance from 4.45pm – 5.30pm
All Day Programme – 11am – 6pm
Knowsley Young Producer Oscar Hedge Presents…
Tales of Culture & Refuge: A pop-up photography exhibition
Knowsley Young Producer Oscar Hedge has been travelling across Knowsley and Liverpool City Region interviewing and photographing individuals who have found refuge in our region. They have generously shared their stories and experiences which will be displayed in the exhibition. Their stories have also been made into a poem by Amina Atiq which will be performed at the event and interpreted into a physical theatre performance by a group of Knowsley performing art students with a Ukrainian choreographer.
There will also be a display that celebrates diverse communities in Knowsley, and beyond which has been researched and produced by Knowsley Young Producer Joseph Sowerby.
Global Flowers: Arts & Crafts Workshop
Anarts and crafts workshop for all ages and abilities delivered by Knowsley-based artist Nayna Lad with support from One Knowsley artists from Venezuela and El Salvador. Attendees will be invited to make flowers using mixed craft materials. The flowers will be the national flowers of the countries that are represented in the performance program – which includes India, Syria, Ukraine, Iran, Sudan, Nigeria. Attendees will also have an opportunity to make the flowers of their own home country, all of which will then form part of a floral display.
