Lives of Colour celebrates another successful Culture Festival

A vibrant and colourful celebration of Cheltenham's diversity returned to Pittville Park on June 10th 2023, with food, music, arts and crafts and a huge array of international cultures being showcased.

After its roaring success in 2022, the organisation once again brought entertainment, bright colours, tasty delicacies and fun back to the people of Gloucestershire.

Lives of Colour treated members of the public to entertainment throughout the day including performances from Salsa Del Sol, Afrobeats fitness with Dance With Bliss, rapping from Volas, jazz from Muddy Alibi, more music from Yeti’s Breakfast, The Blind Lemon Experience, and a kids fashion show with colourful traditional African attire.

A number of vendors were also at the event such as Wanja & Daughters offering East African food, Ilé Darásimi selling beautiful African prints and accessories, jewellery from Kraftea Designz, as well as face painting and henna.

The event was made possible thanks to support from Spirax Sarco, Cheltenham Borough Council, The Summerfield Trust, GE Aviation, and Gloucestershire Community Foundation.

Lives of Colour is an organisation based in Cheltenham whose purpose is to elevate the voices of ethnically and culturally diverse communities fostering equity, equality, and inclusion by providing strategic solutions for business, communities, organizations and statutory agencies through education, events, and training. Culture Fest 2023 is an extension of this work and hopes to break down barriers and create a welcoming space for all.

Founder of Lives of Colour Florence Nyasamo-Thomas said: “It has been wonderful to be able to celebrate this event for a second year, and to highlight all the wonderful cultures within Gloucestershire. Listening and watching the Arabic Dabke music playing and many joining to dance was among the highlight at the festival. The children fashion show with African attire gave the children a lot of confidence. This is how we enable our communities to connect with one another and find a sense of belonging.

“To have the support of local organisations and business such as Cheltenham Borough Council and Spirax Sarco has been very encouraging and uplifting for our communities.”

Volas (aka Ayo Olukoya), a London hip hop artist and former Cheltenham resident who performed at the event said “The event is soul nourishing. I lived here during lockdown, so I didn’t have many friends so it’s good to see cultures mixing, it’s good to see people bringing different vibrant colours and flavors. It’s a representation of Cheltenham.

Atinuke from Kraftea Designz said “It’s been amazing I’m glad that I came. The environment is lovely, the people are very friendly and turnout is great. I think we need to do more events like these, because we need to sensitise people about the African culture. People have been amazed with what they have seen.”