Hyndburn's vibrant culture celebrated at record-breaking event

Over 5,000 people from across Hyndburn and beyond including award-winning actor Julie Hesmondhalgh gathered on Sunday 16th June for a special cultural celebration at what was the biggest event ever hosted by Haworth Art Gallery in its 100 year history.

Marking National Refugee Week, the start of Eid and Father’s Day, the free-to-attend event followed a week of exciting activities at Haworth Art Gallery and Park and took place between 10am and 4pm, with activities, games, stalls, exhibitions and much more taking place across the Haworth Park grounds and buildings.

A fantastic main stage ran throughout the day including an exercise class with Lighthouse Tai-Chi, a sing-a-long musical theatre show from Just Imagine UK, a spectacular Bollywood performance and interactive workshop with the Bollywood Guinness world record breaking Ri Ri’s Dance Academy, a group dance class with DanceSyndrome, an incredible Chinese Lion Performance with Northern Dragons and finally an inspirational community poem performance from the award-winning Respect & Dignity Arts group.

An incredible internationally renowned sculpture, the Lumini, was also on show, hosting workshops from 11am-3pm, which sold out prior to the Connecting Cultures event. Ukulele, heritage and viola workshops, as well as a George and the Dragon storytime all took place inside the Architects of Air structure, an extraordinary and beautiful art installation, offering a spectacular display of light and colour.

Visitors to the event embraced the free shuttle provided by organisers Hyndburn Borough Council, which ran back and forth from Accrington Town Centre, while two chill out tents proved extremely popular, with pre-bought picnic boxes from the Gallery Kitchen going down a treat.

The Gallery Kitchen restaurant also offered a fantastic location for visitors to enjoy a delicious lunch, while Finch Bakery and Ninja Coffee enjoyed a roaring trade, with people queuing throughout the day.

With families attending in their numbers, Connecting Cultures offered a wide range of family-friendly activities including an artisan craft and makers market in The Stables, free henna art, Father’s Day and Carers Day crafts, potpourri making, badge making, heritage games, community and charity stalls, an Indian Rickshaw display and much more.

A penalty shoot-out with the Accrington Stanley Community Trust was high in demand in the rose gardens, while inside Haworth Art Gallery, visitors got the chance to witness a number of exhibitions, a Bonsai tree display and the world famous Tiffany Glass collection.

Connecting Cultures was part of an exciting week long event, with over 30 Hyndburn business owners taking part and high street retailers delivering a number of activities such as Tessa Clemson Yoga from Great Harwood and Accrington-based Create Yourself.

Schools, community groups and hundreds of people attended workshops in the Lumini throughout the week, where they also gave their thoughts on what they want to see in a new heritage centre in Hyndburn. While a special celebration event was also hosted alongside Idle Women – a local charity with hundreds of participants.

Actor Julie Hesmondhalgh, said: “The sun came out for Connecting Cultures, what an absolutely fantastic day. It has been an absolute pleasure and a privilege to be here. Thank you to Hyndburn Borough Council and to everybody who has been involved in making this such an amazingly successful day where we have been well fed and highly cultured.

“This is just the beginning of an amazing new period in Hyndburn’s history, where we are going to be putting our money where our mouth is and support arts and culture across the region.”

Gillian Berry, head of museums and heritage development at Hyndburn Borough Council, said: “We have experienced an incredible day here at Haworth Art Gallery and Park, the biggest event we have hosted in our 100 year history. There was a real community atmosphere throughout the day, with over 5,000 people from different cultures and backgrounds coming together to enjoy and take part in a fantastic range of activities, live performances and events. 

“To also have the internationally renowned Lumini sculpture right here in Accrington, which has been visited by 3 million people around the world, was a real spectacle and treat for us all, and we are really proud to have delivered an event that will live long in the memory.”

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