Liverpool Arab Arts Festival wins Big Lottery Funding to hold a public celebration of Eid
One-day event set for 8th July 2017.
Liverpool Arab Arts Festival (LAAF) will be furthering its aim to bond city communities together through art, with a joyful public celebration of Eid, thanks to a grant from the Big Lottery Fund.
After successfully applying to the Big Lottery Fund’s Celebrate programme Liverpool Arab Arts Festival will host a one-day event on 8th July 2017 on Tiber Square, Lodge Lane, (Liverpool 8). Organisers are now planning a colourful programme of cultural entertainment, cuisine, crafts and art, to take place throughout the day.
LAAF will be working with local partners, such as Liverpool Arabic Centre, The Greenhouse Multi-Cultural Play and Arts Project and Tiber to deliver the event and will be working to involve local groups and retailers to contribute to the celebration. Organisers aim to increase visitors to Lodge Lane to join on the day, and to see what the famous city street has to offer.
On the day all corners of the community will be invited to come together for a belated celebration of Eid, an important holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan.
Taher Qassim, Chair of Liverpool Arab Arts Festival said ‘Eid is an important celebration for many of our local communities, and is a time of positivity, charity and communal celebration. It seems the perfect moment to bring people from diverse cultures together, as well as increasing appreciation and awareness of Arab culture and arts.”
The Big Lottery Fund found that more than half (63%) of people asked reported that they have never or cannot remember ever coming together to celebrate with their local neighbourhood. If given the chance, more than 40% would like to celebrate their local history, and more than two fifths (43%) of those aged 16 to 24 would celebrate their local culture, art or music.
In response to these findings the Big Lottery Fund asked for local groups and organisations of all shapes and sizes to apply for funding, to hold events or activities that would bring people together and celebrate what makes their local community special.
The Celebrate programme is the perfect opportunity for people to showcase and enjoy something important to their community, be it an iconic building, a precious landscape, a unique service or a community hero. There is £5 million available in total across the UK.
If you’d like to get involved with the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival Celebrate event please contact: admin@arabicartsfestival.co.uk
Find out more about Liverpool Arab Arts Festival at www.arabartsfestival.com
For more information about the Celebrate programme please visit: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/celebrate