Ms. Dynamite, the Queen of R and B, will head the line up of musical acts performing at Newcastle’s first ever free Unity Festival in Newcastle, a celebration of the city’s cultural, social and ethnic diversity.
Think Notting Hill Carnival mixed with Glastonbury in Newcastle’s Leazes Park and you’ll be on the right tracks for Unity, which will take place on Saturday 23 May, bank holiday weekend, from 1- 8pm.
Acts including Panjabi MC, Akala, Natty and others will perform on the main stage with DJs, dance acts, comedy, spoken word and acoustic artists performing in tents across the park. A children’s entertainment area will also be a key feature of the festival with bouncy castles, face painters and other entertainment laid on for the under 12s.
A food zone, dubbed ‘Food Alley’ will form a key part of the festival with world street food provided by a range of local suppliers.
Crowd funding has been used to contribute towards the £40K cost of staging the event, with sponsorship from trade unions and one-off donations from businesses across the city. Clubbers attending World Headquarters nightclub in Newcastle have also contributed thousands of pounds to the appeal through bucket collections and through the purchase of lollies and other sweets sold at the venue since the festival idea was first mooted last year. The organisers have still to raise £12K and are hopeful that people committed to the principle of Unity in the city will make a donation.
Dan Kebede, one of the event organisers said:
“Newcastle Unity Festival is being organised to combat intolerance in all its forms and to send out a pro harmony message. It is a chance to celebrate our cultural richness. If you support the idea of the Unity Festival and all the different elements that make Newcastle special, then ‘chuck us a crust’ & help make this happen.”
Donations to fund the event can be made at www.gofundme.com/Nufest and event info http://nufest.com/
How do I get in touch regarding volunteering at unity festival. I’d like to volunteer as I volunteer at green festival and I enjoy that
Hi Neil, try contacting them on facebook here https://www.facebook.com/NewcastleUnityFestival I am sure they would love to hear from you. Donna 🙂