An Indian Summer Festival is returning to Leicester for its sixth year and offering a range of Indian inspired activities and displays spread across the months of July to October.
Events are to be held across the city leading up to Diwali on October 30th. These will include displays of live music, dance, spoken word, cinema, puppetry and graffiti.
The festival promises to bring the magic of India to the heart of Leicester with audiences being able to take part in shadow puppetry workshops or create their own masterpieces with sanskriti graffiti, a technique which combines ancient Sanskrit with urban graffiti.
Festivities start from Sunday 31st July with the festivals only paid event (£8-£12), Tabla with a Difference, located at the Curve Theatre. Other venues include BBC Radio Leicester and Jubilee Square, with some hosting multiple events.
Locals can also look forward to seeing Disney’s latest live-action spectacle, Jungle Book. But rather than in the confines of a cinema, the fantasy tale is screening at what will be Leicester’s biggest outdoor cinema in Jubilee Square on August 19th.
Festival Director Jiten Anand said: “Cultural art and education is a huge part of what Leicester has to offer as a city. With it being on the world map at the moment, we want to offer something unique, special and different to audiences of Leicester and beyond.
“It’s not just for South Asian people. It’s for people who want to celebrate culture and that’s everyone in Leicester because it’s such a united city. When you come to An Indian Summer you see so many different types of people, it creates a really interesting atmosphere that you won’t get at many festivals, said Jiten.
“Whether you want to take part in an art workshop with your children, or whether you want to be educated about the history of Britain and India’s relationship or just want to watch some live performances – there’s something for everyone.
“We want to have one of the biggest celebrations in the country. Next year we’re going to have around 70 events over the space of three months. We want to blow England away and hopefully reach international heights by working with partners such as the British museum, Royal Collection Trust and International artists.”
An Indian Summer is an event by Inspirate, an organisation that seeks to engage audiences with new learning experiences and inspire creativity in people of all ages.
For more information, please visit: www.indiansummer.org.uk/
By Luke Flamson
