A first reflection on the Cumbria Unity Festival 2023 "Following on from the success of the Cumbria Unity Festival 2022 we started planning in September 2022 for the Cumbria Unity Festival 2023 and chose the theme of the ‘Power of Unity’ for the whole Festival.
We delivered 4 different local Festivals:
o The first was a presence at the Harbour Festival in Whitehaven which was in partnership with the Rosehill Theatre company. Here we had market stalls where we engaged with the local community about the power of unity.
o The next event was the Barrow Unity Festival which took place on July 8th. A very wide variety of events and activities took place around Barrow. Some of the highlights were a Unity Parade of flags through the Town, Boxability and an international food area.
o The next event was the Carlisle Unity Festival on July 15th in partnership with Tullie. Once again there were a wide variety of events and activities and some of the highlights here were the Ukulele performers and the ‘Yes, but’ workshop.
o The Final event was the Kendal Unity Festival on July 22nd. The Town Hall was the main venue for a variety of activities and performances. Some of the highlights here where the Escape to Safety exhibition, Bystander training and Waste into wellbeing making and serving a variety of delicious international cuisine.
It has been a great month of activities and events celebrating diversity and also educating on the ‘Power of Unity’.
Guy, July 2023