Bradford South Asian Festival

Bradford South Asian Festival is BACK from August 18^th to 20^th for another packed weekender to light up the district’s 2023 South Asian Heritage Month celebrations.

This year’s festival theme is J.O.Y – Just Own You. We want to celebrate all those simple things about the South Asian identity, heritage and experience that enrich our lives, but which we don’t necessarily acknowledge as doing so.  That includes our food, clothes, music, songs, dance, arts and film heritage - and all the other little things that make us smile and laugh!

It could be a samosa and chai with friends old and new, or a sing song in the living room. It could be a truck art teapot - or a sequinned Parveen Babi-inspired jumpsuit!

The weekender will start on Friday, August 18 with Gigglewalees – a girl-powered take on our annual flagship comedy night curtain raiser Gigglewalahs. BBC Asian Network’s Noreen Khan will host an evening of laughs at the HQ of Bradford’s Inspirational Women Foundation in Bolton Road. Headliner and acclaimed comedian    Shazia Mirza will bring her fearless funnies to Bradford, and she’ll be supported by a line-up of debutante local ladies who have recently been learning all about the art of stand-up in a series of workshops and will face a BSAF audience for the first time. They’re bold, they’re brown, and they’re sure to bring the house down!

On Saturday, August 19, we’ll move to Kala Sangam arts centre for a farewell day of fun before our long-time venue partners close for a major redevelopment. Day 2 of BSAF2023 will be all about South Asian inspired musical magic and grassroots creativity in action.

In the morning, budding theatre writers will be invited to explore their own ideas of desi-infused joy at a workshop with West Yorkshire playwright Shazia Ashraf.

In the afternoon, you can sing your heart out at a traditional Antakshari sing-song (the ORIGINAL musical riff-off game!) with a few tips from Bradford’s own South Asian women’s choir Song-Geet, who most recently appeared at the King’s Coronation Concert. Teams of singers will battle it out through the afternoon to be crowned ultimate Antakshari champions. The musical fun doesn’t end there. As evening approaches, it will be time to don the sequins and kick off the heels with Disco Deewaney, a retro Bollwood disco (ladies only). Celebrate the golden age of Bollywood disco at this all out celebration of desi kitsch. The event was such a hit last year, especially with the ladies, that we decided to bring it back bigger, glitzier and girlier. And before the dancefloor opens up, there will be a chance to learn and practice a few moves with the help of Salma Zaman, of Salma’s Bollywood Dance Academy.

There will also be children’s art sessions running throughout the day to keep the young ones entertained, and a hip hop and break dancing session for the lads, courtesy of Bobak Champion’s Salaam O Salaam lab.

Alex Corwin, from the Kala Sangam team, says: “Bradford South Asian Festival is a really important event, showcasing the depth and range of South Asian culture and we are looking forward to continuing to support the team to help it grow and develop over the next few years. But in the meantime, we are really excited to be hosting events again this year as part of the J.O.Y theme - and we can’t wait to welcome people to Kala Sangam for a day of creative workshops, and an evening of Bollywood inspired musical fun!"

On Sunday, August 20, the fun moves to the Thornbury Centre, where BSAF is proud to present a Big Mela Bash day. Join us in the café space from 11am for BSAF’s Little Foodies, cookery classes for children with a former TV cooking-contest winner, as well as arts and crafts with local artists Zareena Bano and Aicha Bahij.

Wordsmiths and storytellers can indulge their passion for poetry at our Mehfil open mic, and the John Day Hall will host a full day of fun including a desi dress-up portrait stall, choir performance, Bollywood dance pop-ins, delicious food, craft and mehndi stalls, and a storytelling session.

Rahila Hussain, co-director of Bradford South Asian Festival, says: “We are delighted to bring Bradford South Asian Festival back for 2023. There is so much joy in our diverse diaspora communities which we want to bring out and celebrate in an unabashedly colourful and vibrant way.

It’s been a difficult few years for everybody, and we are living in especially challenging times. With this festival, we want to shine a spotlight on the little things in our ordinary lives – drawn from our district’s South Asian heritage communities - that bring us extraordinary joy, a joy that can be shared with our neighbours of all backgrounds.

We want to bring the beautiful heritage of the subcontinent to life in glorious technicolour for all our communities – and spread the fun to everyone!”

As well as the traditional weekender to close Bradford’s South Asian Heritage Month celebrations, we’ll be holding a series of pop up and partnership events in the lead up to the main festival.

Crowds at the recent Bradford Curry Mela already had a taste of what’s to come at the 2023 BSAF weekender – when they thronged to a samosa making stall.

People of all ages and backgrounds came along to learn to make the mouthwatering desi morsels, compete for ‘best samosa’ bragging rights, and of course to eat their own creations.

The BSAF team will also be at the BD:Fest this weekend serving up a desi breakfast with a twist for our artist community. Watch out for us too at some of the summer's other festivals and parks/open spaces!

And we’ll be holding an Antakshari and tea morning at WomenZone on August 10 to get people in the festival mood, and help get those vocal chords warmed up for the big singing battle at Kala Sangam.

Full details of all events are in the attached programme and early-bird tickets will be on sale via Eventbrite from Monday, July 31. Please follow our social media platforms @Bradford_SAF (Twitter) @BradfordSAF (Facebook and Insta) or see our website www.bradfordsouthasianfestival.com for details and updates.