News

Summer success for 'Festival of World Music and Culture

13/9/2019

An exciting ‘Festival of World Music and Culture’ took over Peel Centenary Centre and Cathedral this summer, with support from the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

Hundreds joined together in the west of the island for Our Island: Our World - a global cultural celebration organised by Peel Centenary Centre featuring music, dance, workshops, children's activities and delicacies from around the world.

The Steam Packet Company offered its support by providing travel assistance to a number of performers who travelled to the island to be part of the celebrations.

The festival was launched on Friday 30th August with a mass tribal drumming and singing workshop on Tynwald Hill, led by international tutor John Bowker. What followed was a diverse array of musical performances at the Centenary Centre, from as far away as Rajasthan in India, Argentina, Gambia and Serbia.

Day two saw a family Global Celebration take place with a free programme of music, dance, displays and workshops, from Filipino martial arts and Serbian belly dance to tribal African singing and drumming. There were also some outreach drumming workshops in Douglas and Ramsey as part of the celebrations.

Event organiser David McClean said: ‘Over the two days all I could see was a just sea of happy faces enjoying the music, dance, culture and delicious food from around the world in the glorious sunshine. It was a weekend to remember and an opportunity to immerse yourself in the diverse range of cultures we have here in the island.

‘I’d like to say a huge thank you the sponsors, volunteers, performers and guests who came to support the festival. We really couldn't have done it without the help of our supporters, including the wonderful Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. Thank you.’

Our Island: Our World received lots of great feedback over the weekend from festivalgoers. One local person said: ‘A huge thank you to the organisers for a great festival. It must have been an incredible amount of hard work but worth it. We loved the Saturday night concert - great music and lots of happy people.’ While another commented: ‘The whole weekend was beautifully organised and the festival concerts on the Friday and Saturday were fabulous. Well done, David Mclean and the other organisers, for another wonderful event.’

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Chief Executive Mark Woodward said: ‘As a keen supporter of arts and culture in the island, we were very happy to offer our support to this fantastic cultural celebration. Well done to David and the team for organising such a well-attended and enjoyable festival for the second consecutive year, we hope everyone enjoyed it.’ 

 

The festival involved a family Global Celebration  with a free programme of music, dance, displays and workshops