People will be able to travel around the globe through food, culture and sound baths during this year’s Intercultured Festival.
Taking place at seven venues across Bradford, you can try your hand at lantern making, poetry, textiles, or discover eye-opening perspectives at talks.
Intercultured Festival will run from October 18 to October 28, offering 10 days of free and ‘pay as you feel’ workshops and conversations.
You can take part in Pahari poetry with writer Nabeela Ahmed at a Mushaira, the Urdu word for an event where poets gather to perform their works.
Poetry created during the event will later be published in an anthology.
Words of Welcome is being held by SBC Theatre, an organisation dedicated to working with people seeking sanctuary such as refugees, asylum seekers, and new migrants.
Open to all, the workshop will offer a shared meal, live readings, music, dancing, activities, and much more.
You can learn how to cook Palestianian and Iranian dishes with local refugee chefs Asil and Sehab or taste simple Chinese dishes with refugee cook and host, Hui Hi Jie.
The Commoners Ball - the family friendly ‘ball for all’ - is returning once again to the Midland Hotel.
The glitzy event will mark the end of Intercultured Festival 2023 - showcasing locally and nationally renowned artists such as Inder Goldfinger and Silverfinger Singh.
It is an opportunity to meet local refugee families, festival artists and organisers and dress to impress.
Meanwhile the lanterns made alongside Cecil Green Arts earlier in the month will get the chance to glow during the Listers Lantern Parade on October 27.
Intercultured Festival was born out of founder Mussarat Rahman’s wish to build connections between communities.
It is hoped the events will open up deeper, respectful conversations and provide opportunities to make friends.
“We’ve brought in different people to offer some different workshops,” Mussarat, who is also an artist and Biasan’s cultural co-ordinator, said.
“We wanted to showcase the diversity of people we work with.
“Most of the events are free. If people want to make a donation that’s fine, it will go towards the cost of the festival.”
Other events include two relaxing sound baths by Calm Spirals at Bradford Cathedral; Dance with Words, a dance and movement workshop provided by SAA UK at Keighley Library; and Harmony After The War, an evening of Kurdish music and Syrian poetry with tea and cakes at Kala Sangam.
To see the whole events programme, visit www.intercultured.co.uk
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