The Mela weekend was launched with a spectacular parade through the town centre on Friday 9 September in which over 300 young people from 4 local schools; Hollingbourne Primary, South Borough Primary, West Borough Primary and St Francis Primary took part. The parade climaxed in Brenchley Gardens where the Mayor Cllr Brian Mortimer raised the Mela Flag to announce the start of the Mela Weekend.

Saturday evening at Mote Park saw a spectacular night of fusion and colour with first bhangra superstar Sukshinder Shinda performing his urban bhangra sound which had the audience despite the poor weather up and dancing. He was followed by the Counterfeit Beatles who performed all the great hits from the fab four. The evening climaxed with a firework show.

Sukshinder Shinda said “This was the first time that I have performed at the Maidstone Mela and it was a great experience. It is really good for an artist like me promote our bhangra music to a wider audience and expose them to new sounds and songs. Despite the poor weather the audience were really supportive and really got into my set, even those who did not understand the lyrics still appreciated the music. Great credit needs to go to the Mela organisers for putting on such a fantastic performance.”

Sunday was a true celebration of food, music and dance with stage performances from around the world including Raqsonic a local Arabic band, K College who performed different dances from around the world, Merenkurkut a popular Finnish Folk Group, Phase 5 Steel Band, Maidstone Nepalese Group and local group Bollywood Blast. The Mela was headlined by Cohesion Plus who created a special performance involving Four by Four Bhangra, Cultural Beats and Uzambezi and the popular Michael Jackson Tribute Act Navi. In addition to the stage programme there was an array of food, craft, information and cultural stalls which created a real family feel.

Gurvinder Sandher the Artistic Director of the Mela commented “I have been really overwhelmed with the positive response that we have had to the Mela. Much hard work goes into pulling this event together but all the work is really worthwhile when you get such positive feedback. Our Mela this year coincided with the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and I hope we showed the positive community relations enjoyed here in Maidstone as we had all communities and all ages coming together as one. That for me is such a powerful image and I am very proud of what we along with our partners Maidstone Borough Council have achieved. Our artistic content was again very strong and the record crowds reflected that”

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Further information can be found in the following leaflet (click to enlarge).

He has won numerous awards at the UK Asian Music Awards including in 2006 “Best Album” and “Best Video”, “Best Act” and “Best Album” in 2008, “Best Producer” in 2010 and 2011 as well as picking up awards on the Indian Sub-Continent.

According to the man himself “I have been very blessed throughout my career and very much appreciate all the support that I have been provided both here and in India. I am looking forward to coming to Kent in September where I have many fans. The Maidstone Mela is about using music and dance to bring communities together. That is the aim of my music also. I have always been touched by the positive response that I receive from people who may not understand Punjabi but appreciate the music. Music is a universal language which helps to break down barriers every day.”

Gurvinder Sandher the Artistic Director of Cohesion Plus Kent commented “It has been a real coup to secure the services of Sukshinder Shinda. His style of traditional bhangra music fused with a cutting edge urban sound I believe will be greatly enjoyed by the audiences attending the Mela. There will not be many places where you would see an artist like Sukshinder Shinda followed by the Counterfeit Beatles but then there are not many events like the Maidstone Mela, something we are very much proud off. I am very grateful to Arts Council England and Maidstone Borough Council for their on-going support for the Mela.”

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According to local music agents Celebtime “Many make the mistake of believing other tribute acts or impersonators claiming to be the best tribute to the Michael Jackson. Although they may be talented in what they do, there is only one true professional who undoubtedly reigns supreme.
This is Navi.”

Gurvinder Sandher the Artistic Director of Cohesion Plus Kent commented “The reason we were keen to book Navi was because Michael Jackson has not only a cross generation appeal but also a cross community appeal and it will be the ideal way to climax this year’s Mela celebrations.”

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For specific stall enquires please contact Christine Dier at Maidstone Borough Council on 01622 602 000.

Bill Singh from Cultural Beats commented “The idea of having a community parade was a great idea. It was so positive to see so many different communities coming together as one.”

The stage programme featured a range of culturally diverse acts including Bloco Fogo, Maidstone Nepalese Community Association, Lynda Fryday Academy of Irish Dancers, Wolfshead and Vixen Morris Dancers.

Particular highlights which were funded through Arts Council England were the performances of emerging bhangra star Rana Sahota and the Cohesion Plus produced piece ‘Fusion Clash’. This piece featured a fusion of African. Asian and Western music and vocal styles which was complimented by the Four by Four Bhangra Dancers. This proved to be especially popular with most of the crowd by the end of the performance standing and dancing along to the infectious beat.

Suki Randhawa from Four by Four commented “We had a great response from the audience. It was very exciting for us to be involved in a project like this as it allows us to try different things and explore new methods of working and new styles of performance.”

The Mela was finished off by the ‘The Take That Experience’ a local tribute group.

Comments on the evaluation forms included;

“Great for all the cultures to come together

“An exceptionally well organised Mela. Well done and keep it up”

“Great event, excellent entertainment”

“The Cohesion Plus band were outstanding”

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He commented after his performance “The vibe was really positive from the audience. I wanted to put on a great show for them, thanking them for coming out in the poor weather and they responded to my style of music. I look forward to coming back to Maidstone soon, hopefully the weather will be better next time!”

Jazzy was followed on stage by the Suitcase Blues Brothers who had the crowd dancing and rocking with a memorable performance.

Gurvinder Sandher the Director of Cohesion Plus “I would really like to thank Arts Council England and Maidstone Borough Council for their support in allowing the Mela night to happen. We are trying to showcase artists to new audiences and the different styles we had today reflected this approach. Both Jazzy B and the Suitcase Blues Brothers performed great sets despite the poor weather and the responses we had from people as they left were so positive”

The Maidstone Mela Night was organised by Cohesion Plus in partnership with Maidstone Borough Council and Kent Equality Cohesion Council and was part funded via Arts Council England.

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Rana will be singing from his forthcoming album. He has won may plaudits for his debut album last year and is looking forward to wooing fans with us unique and enrgetic fusion of bhangra and pop.

“I am delighted to be performing at the Maidstone Mela and am looking forward to showcasing tracks from my forthcoming album,” Rana said, excited about his performance at the Mela.

The schools worked with our partners the renowned arts company Samesky on visual displays which the schools showcased during the parade. The schools involved were St Michael’s CE Junior, Archbishop Courtenay Primary, St Francis Primary, Hollingbourne Primary and West Borough.

The launch event parade started outside Marks and Spencer in Week Street, it then went down Fremlin Walk, into Earl Street, back up Week Street before finishing at Brenchley Gardens where the acts involved in the parade performed for a short time before the Mayor of Maidstone Cllr. Eric Hotson raised the Mela Flag to formally launch the celebrations and activities for the Mela in September.

Gurvinder Sandher the Director of Cohesion Plus said “The Mela launch here in Maidstone goes from strength to strength and it was so great to see so many people coming out and supporting the parade. I am very grateful for the supported provided by Arts Council England without which this event would not be able to happen. The feedback from schools has also been really positive”

Photos courtesy of Sarah Knight and Chris Brunt.

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