Exeter Respect Festival 2011:
Respect In The Park and other events add up to a weekend of diversity celebration
Events at a glance
Respect In The Park free festival: Belmont Park Sat & Sun 4 & 5 June, Sat 12noon-7pm,
Sun 12noon- 6pm.
Respect warm-up: Exeter Phoenix Fri 3 June, 8pm-midnight with Transglobal Underground
Respect after-party: Lemon Grove Sat 4 June, 9pm-2am with Krafty Kuts & Dub FX
Respect after-show: Exeter Phoenix Sun 5 June, 7pm-11pm with Mamadou Cissokho
What is Exeter Respect?
Exeter Respect is the city’s annual celebration of diversity where performing and creative arts and community activities are used to promote multi-cultural understanding and challenge prejudice.
This year’s events
This year we present not only a giant free 2-day festival but a top-quality warm-up night at Exeter Phoenix, an incredible Saturday night after-party at the Lemon Grove and a final after-show at Exeter Phoenix on the Sunday night.
Respect In The Park – free festival on Sat & Sun 4 & 5 June
Following the success of last year’s giant free 2 day festival, attended by 13,500 people, another big event will be held again this year.
Event elements
Belmont Park will once again be transformed into a vibrant festival site containing the following exciting areas and activities:
World big-top stage
– already booked are hiphop/indie fusionists N.U.M.B, FOS Brothers from Ireland, acclaimed Indian vocalist Pooja Agra, Afrobeat band Zambula, reggae act Peachy Farmer, and Klezmer combo Hazaar
– Now with extra special guests 3 Daft Monkeys and Sunday headliners the amazing Bhangra-rock fusion band Kissmet!
Community Stage
– an array of diverse performances including: schools, acrobats, choirs, playwrights, hiphop crews, martial arts demos, musicians, poets and more!
Acoustic Cafe
– laid back performances representing a range of cultures
Playday Area
– an array of children’s activities including arts & crafts, storytelling, dance, circus skills
and more presented by Exeter City Council and Exeter University’s Guild of Students,
including our new storytelling tipi – adults welcome!
Dance workshops
– learn dances from all over the world with Dance In Devon
Healing zone
– alternative therapies from around the world in the chilled atmosphere of the park’s sensory garden
Fire Service Area
– with interactive demonstrations
Co-operative Village
– showcasing the full range of Co-op services, and Co-ooperative values
Market stalls
– an array of local crafts and Fair Traded goods
Communities and campaigns
– reflecting Devon’s diversity, from refugee support to recycling, from Amnesty to Exeter Hindu Temple…
Food
– from around the world including curry, Caribbean dishes, noodles, Mexican food, paella, pizza and more and a Licensed bar too.
What visitors can expect
Exeter Respect has a celebratory atmosphere second to none and this year’s festival builds on the key aspects of last year’s amazing event – and is going on for an extra hour on the Saturday too!
Belmont Park will be covered in beautiful site decoration produced by a range of schools, community and youth groups. Last year we had over 60 performances by over 400 performers and this year we will be hosting even more, including: African, Latin and Japanese drumming; Bollywood and other Indian dance styles; traditional Chinese music; intimate acoustic performances; amplified bands; and an array of choirs – all sorts of fusions of musical styles from around the world but sourced locally.
This year there will be even more going on, as so many groups have asked to join the celebration which will go on for an hour longer, until 7pm, on the Saturday.
Feedback from last year’s event showed an appetite for more food on site, so this year therewill be more caters than before, with food including Indian, Caribbean, Mexican, pizza, paella, noodles and more.
There will be more children’s activities than ever, with Exeter City Council’s Playdays team joining forces with the University’s Guild of Students on both days.
Event organiser Suaad Gemen-George commented: “Exeter Respect 2011 will be the biggest celebration of diversity the city has ever seen. We have been inundated with groups wanting to join our massive event and we are pulling out all the stops to squeeze them all into Belmont Park. This event will be massive and will embody the spirit of our Respect slogan: all different, all equal!”
Volunteers needed
Exeter Respect runs on volunteers and we need more – if you want to help put on this event then please get in touch via the Exeter Respect website.
Send us your multicultural experiences for performance. Exeter’s Bike Shed Theatre are participating in Exeter Respect 2011 and are looking for personal experiences of multiculturalism from the residents of Exeter to be presented as ashort stories to be read by professional actors. What does multiculturalism mean to you? Have you experienced it, either in this city or elsewhere? These stories can either be from your own point of view, or written with someone else’s voice. They can be set now, in the past or in the future. These pieces should be no longer than fifteen minutes and no shorter than five. Please send stories to info@exeter-respect.org by the end of April.
Evening events
As well as the giant free daytime event in Belmont Park on the Saturday and Sunday, there will be following evening events:
Friday 3 June, Respect warm-up at Exeter Phoenix with multicultural fusion legends Transglobal Underground plus Occam’s Razor, 8.30pm-midnight, £10.
Saturday 4 June, massive Respect after-party at the Lemon Grove with Krafty Kuts, Dub FX and more, 9pm-2am, £11.
Sunday 5 June, Respect after-show night at Exeter Phoenix with kora player Mamadou Cissokho & his band Sabou Poisson Nuef and more, 7pm-11pm, £5.
Further information,
Please visit www.exeter-respect.org to find out more about this year’s festival.