Three day immigrant festival starting on 19 June

Ansar Ahmed Ullah

As part of Refugee Week a three day festival titled The Immigrants of Spitalfields Festival will start on 19 June to celebrate the lives, heritage and contribution made by people from different faiths and cultural backgrounds who have made Spitalfields their home.

Spitalfields, situated just outside the city walls, was the first port of call for many different migrant groups arriving to London for over 250 years. The festival organisers are inviting people to learn more about this fascinating and diverse part of London.

At the festival you will experience a great range of events taking place in many unusual and hidden venues in the area, listen to Khlezmer music in the atmospheric setting of London’s oldest Ashkenazi Synagogue, hear Bengali poetry spoken in its original form, see an illustrated talk about the 17th century Huguenot silk weavers, take a multi-faith walk around Spitalfields, along with many more events talks, walks, performances, film screenings, readings and tasting experiences. Speakers include: Dan Cruickshank, Mary Schoeser, John Eversley, Dan DeHanas, Rachel Lichtenstein, the Gentle Author, Kathy Chater, Julie Begum and many others. For further information, visit http://immigrantsofspitalfields.org.uk/