Bristol Refugee Festival returns for 2022

Boat rides, storytelling, exhibitions, music, feasts, crafts, ceilidh, performance and more are on the packed agenda for this year’s Bristol Refugee Festival.

The annual celebration will also see the return of the popular Our City Cup football tournament after a two-year hiatus, along with other live events.

Running from June 6 – 26, the citywide festival that celebrates the contributions of refugees and asylum seekers will kick off with a launch event at the Malcolm X Centre in St Paul’s on Monday evening, where there will be music, food, activities and a chance to learn more about the work of the Bristol Refugee and Asylum Seeker partnership.

There will be an expansion of the citywide ‘Celebrating Sanctuary Local’ programme, with at least ten community-led events in locations such as Eastville Park, the Greenway Centre in Southmead, Page Park, St Werburgh’s Community Centre and St Paul’s Learning Centre.

Festival director Jules Olsen says: “The theme of ‘healing’ connects us with the national Refugee Week theme, but in Bristol, we wanted to emphasise the importance of community in that process.

M Shed will host a spotlight loan from the British Museum for the exhibition Crossings: Community and Refuge and there will be a boat ride around the harbour with storytelling and music, as well as a family theatre show, crafts drop-in and a ceilidh dance. Bristol Refugee Arts Collective has joined forces with UWE Bristol art students to host an exhibition and workshops.

Sherien, a volunteer festival ambassador, says: “The refugee festival shows a lot of support for refugees, makes them feel welcomed and like they belong."

“Participating in all these things creates a beautiful spirit among people, increases their knowledge of each other and reduces their sense of alienation. It makes us closer and increases mutual respect. People get to know new people and the celebration brings them together in joy and pleasure.”

Find out more and donate via: www.localgiving.org/charity/bristol-refugee-festival/

Source: https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/bristol-refugee-festival-returns-for-2022/

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