Although music seemed to be the main attraction of the day, with a large crowd swarming around the stage, it wasn't the only focus. With a superb cuisine, community tents and mini-fair ground, there were lots of things to do. Like everyone else, I went straight to the stage. A youth project presented Mela with ‘Fairytale Inferno’, a rock and punk band consisting of dancers, singers and even instrumentalists. Youth action project co-ordinator, Tom Hall explained that he wanted to provide a chance for young people to take their creativity to the next level.
After viewing such a great performance, I whisked myself off to check out the action elsewhere. A calming and relaxing atmosphere was hugely present in the Henna and Nail Art tent, as many women sat and had their hands pampered, much different to the ‘Women’s Centre’ however, where excited little girls flocked to have their hair braided and faces painted. Outside, there was a huge, pink and yellow bouncy slope. Oh my goodness I love pink and yellow! Tempted to jump on board, I dragged myself back to the main stage.
When I arrived, I had to scramble my way through the crowd. Jagged Entertainment was live on stage and the crowd was going wild! This multi-talented group rapped, had amazing body-popping dance moves, excellent beep-boxing skills and great vocal talent too. Youngsters begged to see more of their moves and girls were screaming for the attractive males, quite literally going nuts! With all this hype surrounding these guys, I felt pretty dam lucky to have chance to chat with them. Introducing themselves as “The freshest talent from Manchester, supporting the UK Urban scene” who are “slicker than your average”, they told me that they loved performing because the crowd reaction is amazing.
Jagged Entertainment were a tough act to match but Dhamak Collective never failed to keep the crowd entertained, with an even greater level ofvariety, with mc’s and singers, drums and base. This band came together via a youth project managed by David McGinn, aiming to unit the community. Overall, the day was a huge success. With arts and craft, variety of music and lets not forget the bouncy slope, I thoroughly enjoyed it, as did twelve year old Hamza Jahanzeb, the Nasir’s and Howi’s…Result! |