orthern Ireland’s largest multi-cultural occasion is about to have fun variety with occasions throughout 9 days.

The seventeenth Belfast Mela Festival is anticipated to draw tens of hundreds of holiday makers to get pleasure from shows of music, dance, arts, theatre, wellbeing and meals later this month.

This yr a vivid colored powder-throwing occasion Mela Colours shall be added to the providing on Saturday August 26 forward of the primary day of festivities on Sunday August 27.

At the launch of this yr’s occasion, the Lord Mayor of Belfast Ryan Murphy mentioned the Mela Festival “encapsulates our city and its welcoming spirit, while also celebrating the diverse, dynamic and fantastic mix of cultural diversity”.

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“The nine-day festival is an important platform that will allow minority ethnic communities to share and express their identity and embodies our collective vision for a shared future in Belfast,” he mentioned.

Dr Nisha Tandon, founding father of Belfast Mela and Director of ArtsEkta mentioned the occasion has come a great distance from its first yr in 2007 which was attended by 300 folks.

“It’s now an incredible nine-day festival which now attracting more than 60,000 people and representatives from more than 20 nationalities who have made Belfast home,” she mentioned.

“ArtsEkta has taken enormous strides towards positioning Mela as a festival which can make a significant impact on the lives of members of our new and established migrant communities who remain seriously under-represented in civic life.

“Central to our work is the use of the arts to generate creative responses to social problems at a local level, helping communities to develop a sense of belonging and a more open, welcoming and vibrant society where all communities in Northern Ireland thrive.”

Highlights of this yr’s occasion are set to incorporate a carnival parades via the town with contributors from greater than 20 completely different cultural teams, a mini Mela at Belfast City Hall in addition to the primary pageant at Botanic Gardens on Sunday August 27.