by Glen Screeton
WARRINGTON Ethnic Communities Association presented an excellent afternoon of live music, dance, entertainment, food and much more at Warrington Mela on Sunday 17th September.
The Mela, which originally started in 2011 as a small community festival, took place in Queens Gardens, Palmyra Square on a lovely warm day and was perfect for soaking up the sights and sounds of this multi-cultural event.This is the second time I have attended the Mela and I am usually in tow with my wife Clare, carrying out her role as Community Outreach Lead for Healthwatch Warrington.This time though, I was determined to capture as much of the entertainment as possible for my Warrington Worldwide Music Column – courtesy of Editor Gary Skentelbery of course!
Prior to reaching the stage you have to follow the winding path through the abundance of stalls selling their wares, ranging from clothing, crafts, beautiful hand made jewellery and the very intricate Henna hand painting which was swiftly taken up by my daughter.
Coupled with the intoxicating aroma of spices being blended with the huge array of foods on offer from many different ‘world’ dishes it wasn’t long before I was easily tempted by two large samosas with chickpea sauce. On taking a seat in the sun to sample my delicious looking purchase and observe the hussle and bustle of the many ethnic communities I forgot why I was there and I could have sat on all day!,
However, before long the large group of Nigerian dancers bedecked in traditional dress passing by meant it was time to go to work, and
under the watchful eye of the Prince of Wales Volunteers statue I found the stage being occupied by the very jovial Marcus, the Master of Cermonies. He quickly moved the many acts through the entertainment programme that included Solo acoustic guitarists singing English songs, African drummers, dancing Punjabi Mascots and the very talented SonAsh Sisters with a colouful display of graceful, traditional dance . Bhangra singer / rapper Ranbir Daskir and his drummer Laks proved to be very popular and their hypnotic rhythms had a good sized crowd up and dancing in no time, it was fascinating to watch, and the children were having a ball leaping around with ice creams in their hands whilst parents looked on with pride. It was a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere and I had to decline the kind invitation to dance a few times much to the amusement of the onlookers, although I think they were secretly relieved!
After a few jokes from Marcus and some friendly crowd banter the final act I saw was The Fire Breathers, another dazzling but more contemporary trio of dancers before it was time to head home. I had really enjoyed the day and apologies to the acts I had sadly missed , but next year I will ensure I get there early and promise not to hang around the food stalls for quite as long !
