BOTANIC Gardens is the venue for the 9th annual Belfast Mela celebrations taking place at the end of this month.
Photo by Jake Samuels
Over 20,000 visitors are expected to descend on the South Belfast park for what has become the biggest celebration of world culture in Northern Ireland.
This year’s event will see a colourful carnival atmosphere of music, dance, fashion and food as well as a whole host of street theatre, craft stalls, artisan sellers and artistry from across the globe.
The festival takes its name “Mela” from the Sanskrit word ‘to meet’.
And while Melas are usually synonymous with south-Asian culture, organisers ArtsEkta have adopted the concept with a unique multi-cultural focus now promoting a large number of cultures through the arts.
ArtsEkta is Northern Ireland’s largest ethnic arts organisation.
The event invites community groups from across Northern Ireland join with some of the country’s most innovative and impressive musicians and performance artists to create a multi-cultural day of magic.
Tickets for the Belfast Mela which runs from 12-6pm on Sunday August 30 are available from www.belfastmela.org.uk