Festival of Thetford & Punjab 2025

July 2025

The Festival of Thetford & Punjab was a cross-cultural celebration inspired by the people of Thetford and the Duleep Singh family, the last Royal Family of the Punjab who lived in nearby Elveden. This year’s programme included a weekend of exciting events at Ancient House Museum, Thomas Paine Hotel’s Annual Curry Night, and the Thetford Mela, a day of music, performance and dance at Thetford Grammar School.

Thetford Mela

We once again took over the grounds of Thetford Grammar School for this year’s Thetford Mela. The event featured the Heritage Brass Band from Rajasthan, the Jaggi Brothers, the legendary Heera Group Dhami & Kumar, the traditional all-female Punjabi folk dancers G.I.D.H.A, Circus Raj, Sikh martial arts from Baba Fateh Singh Gatka Akhara, BEE2 Bhangra Star, dance students from Thetford Academy, and Elene & Vasile Foca from Ipswich. The day also featured the brand new Colours of Thetford exhibition, Indian food, Henna Art, arts, crafts and heritage stalls, and A Parade of Self, a project by artists Kim Davey and TriggerBliss. The Main Stage was hosted by Sunrise Radio with a special appearance by presenters Raj Ghai and Paul Shah.

Festival of Thetford & Punjab 2025 At Ancient House

In honour of the Festival, the Ancient House Museum of Thetford Life opened its doors for free all weekend. Visitors were invited to step back in time at Ancient House Museum of Thetford Life to find out about Maharajah Duleep Singh and his family. They explored the brand-new displays including miniature models of rooms at Elveden Hall where the Maharajah lived. Maharajah Duleep Singh’s son, Prince Frederick, gifted Ancient House to the people of Thetford and it opened as a museum in 1924. To mark the centenary, there are new displays telling the story of Maharajah Duleep Singh, his parents, Maharajah Ranjit Singh and Maharani Jind Kaur, and his first wife, Maharani Bamba. There are also items from the private collection of Peter Bance, Sikh historian relating to the Maharajah’s children.

Thomas Paine Curry Night

Gez and Rosie Chetal invite you to their annual curry night, offering a lavish three course Indian meal with entertainment from Bhangra Dhol players the Jaggi Brothers, and Bhangra and Bollywood music.