Brouhaha

By Colin Serjent

This summer’s annual Brouhaha Liverpool International Street Festival promises to be the biggest and best event they have ever held, with over 200 artists from 25-plus countries taking part.

One of the main highlights of the festival will be The ‘World in Princes Park’ event on Saturday 23 July (1pm to 7pm) with seven stages of music and dance from local and international performers. This will be held in conjunction with the International Mela (it is a Hindu word for meeting) held on the main stage at the park on the same day (1pm to 5:30pm) incorporating Asian and South Asian dance, music and visual arts.

Prior to these two events there will be the Liverpool International Carnival Parade, titled Crossing Waters (the title is derived from Liverpool’s involvement in the Atlantic slave trade), which will wind its way from Merseyside Caribbean Community Centre, beginning at 12pm, and will arrive at Princes Park at 2pm.

“Over 1500 people from 50 cultural, community and educational organisations from throughout Merseyside will be parading over 150 costumes in the largest piece of mobile artwork in the country,” said Brouhaha Director Giles Agis.

The festival begins Friday 22 July with an opening ceremony at the Philharmonic Hall. “Each group of performers will get a three or four minutes slot on stage,” stated Agis. “In effect it is the whole festival brochure crammed into an evening!”

During the first week of the festival there will be a Community Tour (25-29 July), in which artists will hold workshops in local communities, and featuring a community festival day in Sefton Park.

There will also be city centre celebrations at Clayton Square, Queen’s Square and the Church Street podium involving street performances from Latin America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

For more information about a host of other Brouhaha events taking place access www.brouhaha.uk.com or call 0151 709 3334 for a free festival brochure.