This Summer Rayleigh hosted a special Global Village event with live music, storytelling, food and dance from different corners of the globe. 

Hundreds of people attended to sing along to the hits of Bob Marley with The Marley Experience; take part in a mass Ceilidh Jam Up with Folk Dance Remixed; enjoy live music from the Southend Irish Association Musicians; be transported to far off places with African storyteller Usifu Jalloh; relax with Tai Chi and try their hand at origami with Lu Yu; throw some shapes with Jaymini’s Bollywood Dance; and get moving with the percussive rhythms and Capoeira of BrazilArte. There were also food stalls, a licensed bar, arts and crafts activities, and Henna hand painting with Jity Bajaj.

This project was funded by Rochford District Council via the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit www.gov.uk/government