Govanhill festival set up to combat racism to return for ninth year
The Govanhill International Festival and Carnival (GIFC) will run from August 1 until 10, celebrating creativity, solidarity, and community.
The festival, which started in 2015 as a neighbourhood's response to local racial attacks, continues to hold a strong anti-racism stance.
(Image: Karen Gordon) The opening weekend will feature a parade with samba, lion dancers, and street drumming, starting at Queen's Park and ending in Govanhill Park.
For programme information and to book tickets, go to www.govanhillbaths.com/festival.
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Simone Stewart, arts and heritage manager, said: 'Last year, as anti-immigration protests erupted across parts of England, here in Govanhill - Scotland's most diverse square mile, where more than eighty languages are spoken - thousands of people came together to march, sing and celebrate solidarity through our parade.
"At a time when hatred was spilling onto the streets elsewhere, our working class, multicultural community showed what it means to build belonging."
"That's why this year we've launched our Creative Neighbourhood Grants, giving local individuals, artists, networks and organisations the resources and the responsibility to create work that matters to their communities.
"It's about creating public culture that is shared, representative and lasting - opening space for new voices, building relationships, skills and connections that go far beyond the festival itself.'
The Creative Neighbourhood Grants commissioned projects like Govanhill's Got Talent, The Future is Written Queer, and Archiving Anti-Racism in Govanhill.
The Govanhill Book Festival will return with talks from Nicola Sturgeon, Alycia Pirmohamed, Chris McQueer, and Martin O'Connor.
Palestinian solidarity is a key theme, with a mini-festival of Palestinian art and various events highlighting its role in the struggle for liberation.
The festival will also celebrate Irish roots, with various projects focused on working-class histories of migration, music, and language.
The festival gathers people and ideas, hosting discussions and workshops on Glasgow's anti-racist history, Jewish anti-Zionism and resistance, and modern housing activism.
The final day will host a multi-venue street music festival with live sets curated by SNACK Magazine, Duende, and Love Music Hate Racism.
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