Preston City Mela 2023
Preston City Mela is back for an exciting 2023.
This long standing, vibrant celebration of arts, music, dance, culture and heritage is back to give you a touch of South Asia in it's 26th year!
It is a great time to bring families and communities together, for highlighting local talent, and offering something for everyone. The word Mela means 'a fair' which traditionally would bring the community together - exactly what this event achieves.
Everyone is invited and welcome to participate in this fun and free event, with a variety of stalls, food, and workshops to get stuck into.
2023 Mela theme is 'A Celebration of Culture.'
The Preston City Mela Community Interest Company [Not for Profit] run events that seeks to bring communities together and celebrate South Asian Culture in the Northwest of England. Its values are deeply rooted in preserving and promoting South Asian arts in all forms and cultural heritage.
The Mela consists of a one-day festival celebrating South Asian culture drawing crowds of up to 8000 people with a variety of performance artists, Workshops and Catering that all help to celebrate the story of south Asian communities in the Northwest. In Addition, Mela has several projects that consist of tutoring, coaching and training in South Asian arts.
Mela Objectives:
- To Promote and develop South Asian art forms in Preston and across Lancashire.
- To showcase local artistic talent and retain traditional South Asian art forms in the city.
- To use South Asian arts, as a key enabler to promoting community cohesion, breaking down cultural differences and engaging people from all walks of life.
- To contribute towards a vibrant and diverse city offer connecting into the city's main cultural programme.
- To establish a quality cultural offer for Preston and Lancashire.
- To contribute towards the positive health and wellbeing of Preston's residents and visitors.
Main Stage Programme
| Time | Performance |
|---|---|
| 10 am | Bollywood Sounds DJ EME (Shyam Limbachia) and Jay Acharya Programme Compere |
| 10:30 am | Friends of Preston - Puli kali or Tiger Dance |
| 10:55 am | Rohith Rapper |
| 11:15 am | Meghna Nair and Aditi Gudur - Kuchipudi Classical Dance |
| 11:40 am | Darius Electric Violinist |
| 12:10 pm | Urooj Qawal - Qwalli Group |
| 1 pm | Abhinandana Dance Academy - Indian Classical and Contemporary Dances |
| 1:30 pm | Ultimate Bhangra |
| 2 pm | Giddha Radio Panj Da Group |
| 2:30 pm | Dhol Frequency |
| 3:15 pm | PBN |
| 3:50 pm | Jaswinder Daghamia - International Bhangra singer with live band |
| 4:30 pm | Nirmal Sidhu and live band |
On The Park and Strolling
| Time | Performance |
|---|---|
| 11:30 am, 12:30 pm, 1:30 pm | Yu Taichi - Chinese Dragon and Lion Dance (strolling) |
| 12:15 pm | Darius Electric Violinist (VIP Marquee) |
| 1 pm | Worldwide Samba Drummers and Dancers (strolling) |
| 1:30 pm | Panfire Steel Pan (on the park) |
Follow on social media
Check out the Preston City Mela website for full info on previous years and their Board and Governance.
Take a look at the event flyer
You can view the images to see the programme of events at this years Preston Mela event, or you can download the Preston City Mela Programme Leaflet (PDF) [3MB] .