Maidstone Community Mela 2021

Despite the overcast conditions around 3,000 people attended the Maidstone Community Mela in Mote Park on Sunday September 19th. The free festival which celebrates music, food and dance from around the World was produced by Cohesion Plus working in partnership with the Maidstone Cultural Group and the Maidstone Mela Advisory Group. The Mela was funded by Arts Council England, Maidstone Borough Council, Unison and Kent Equality Cohesion Council.

The stage programme offered an array of diverse talent showcasing arts from the world including Bloco Fogo Samba, Reel Eire Irish Dance, Kings of Dhol who fused songs from east and west with their traditional drums grime artists GTown Talents and Square Peg Arts the award winning local charity who work with children and adults with learning disabilities. They were joined by other Maidstone based groups including the Kerala Culture Association who performed dances from South West India, and the Maidstone Malayalee who performed a series of Malayalam dance pieces also from Kerala; they were followed by the ever popular Maidstone Nepalese Community Group.

One of the highlights was the Cohesion Plus produced Folkin Fusion Collective which featured Uzambezi Arts and Four by Four Bhangra. The performance fused music and dance from Southern Africa and Northern India and had everyone up and dancing during the interactive show. The Mela was headlined by Bollywood Brass Band who wooed audiences with their dynamic interpretations of popular Bollywood hits.

Off stage there was a mouthwatering selection of world foods on offer including Indian, Chinese, Nepalese and Caribbean cuisine, as well as traditional burger and chips and Ice Cream. There were also free arts workshops for children as well as a range of charity and community stalls including Victim Support, Kent Police, Adult Education, UNISON, Involve Kent and the Maidstone Dawn Patrol Rotary Club.