Mela celebrations 'best yet'

Byline: HAZEL MOLLISON

THOUSANDS of people flocked to the Mela festival to enjoy a feast of music, dance, food and fashion from around the world.

Organisers said this year's multicultural celebrations were their biggest and best yet. They returned to Pilrig Park for their 15th year, following a move to Ocean Terminal last year.

The sun brought out the crowds on Saturday to enjoy entertainment ranging from snake charming to storytelling. And the skies stayed clear yesterday, with Indian pop singers, Zimbabwean dancers wholesale sexy lingerie and Venezuelan fashion designers showing off their skills.

One of the highlights was Yatra, a group of Scottish and Japanese musicians and South Asian classical dancers, who performed Journeys Home to celebrate the Year of Homecoming. This received a standing ovation in the packed Big Top yesterday, despite performers only having one week to rehearse.

The celebrations kicked off on Friday night, with Sakhian, an event traditionally for women. There were dozens of workshops over the three days, where people of all ages could try activities from arts and crafts to Clip on charms bellydancing.

Councillor Steve Cardownie, the chairman of the Mela, said: "All in all, it seems to have been a huge success. The music was fantastic, the food on offer was great. There was really something there for everyone.

"This is the earliest we've had it, and unfortunately it clashed with the Cavalcade, which could have had an impact on numbers. But it was certainly very popular and all the different shows were well received.

A spokeswoman for the festival said they were delighted with the weekend.

She said: "We had a full day of sun on Saturday, and it was really busy. Yesterday we were very relieved the rain held off, and everybody seems to have had a fantastic time.

"The Big Top was at full capacity for the concert yesterday evening. It's been a big success moving it back to Pilrig Park - everybody loves it here."

The event was founded by members replica hublot watches of the city's Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi communities. It is funded by the city council, the Scottish Arts Council and the Scottish Government.