The organisers of Barrow’s Festival of Colours festival say the event has now been postponed.
The vibrant and multicultural celebration of South Asian inspired dance, street food, workshops and music was scheduled to take place on June 26.
A spokeswoman for Barra Culture, organisers of the festival, said: “Barra Culture, the Forum and Barrow Borough Council are incredibly disappointed to have to reschedule, but are happy to be making plans to relaunch the festival later in the summer, coming back even bigger and even more colourful.”
Councillor Shaun Blezard, Barrow Borough Council’s lead member for arts, culture and leisure, said: “I know many people will have been looking forward to the festival planned for next weekend and that its postponement will be disappointing. However, we need to make sure we do everything to keep people safe.
“Therefore, in light of the increasing number of cases in the region, we feel moving it to a date later this summer is the right thing to do. We hope this means people can enjoy the festival to the full as they celebrate and enjoy everything the special cultural event has to offer.”
The planning and preparation for the Festival of Colours events were always planned in complete accordance with the Government guidelines and the third stage of the roadmap, which was due to end June 21.
Last week’s government announcement, extending the current restrictions to July 19 does allow events of this nature to go ahead. However, taking into account additional advice and guidance from central and local authorities regarding public health, and wanting to take additional, extra precautions for the safety
of all in Barrow and visiting performers, we have had to take the very difficult decision to postpone, the Barra Culture spokeswoman said.
“We’re obviously gutted to be postponing, but now that we’ve got all the planning under our belt, we’re excited that our hard work will be put to good use when we
can finally hold the festival later in the summer,” said Daniel Tyler-McTighe, director for Barra Culture.
“All of our delivery partners have been completely understanding of the desire for extra caution, and are looking forward to making the event spectacular later in the summer.”
What is Barra Culture?
Barra Culture is one of 12 new Creative People and Places (CPP) projects recently awarded funding by Arts Council England with the aim of increasing participation in the arts, particularly amongst those least engaged.
It has been developed and is led by a consortium of Barrow-based organisations who will provide strategic oversight with Women’s Community Matters as
lead partner and accountable body.
The consortium is made up of Brathay Trust, Barrow Borough Council, Cumbria County Council Libraries and Archives and Barrow Arts
Group, comprising of Art Gene, Theatre Factory, Full of Noises and Signal Film and Media.
Barra Culture’s vision is for everyone in Barrow to have the opportunity to experience and be inspired by arts and culture in their local community.
