Woking Celebrates Culture - May 2009

A Regional Cultural Diversity Day Event

Woking Town Centre was buzzing with vibrant live music and dance performances on Saturday 9 May as the town played host to the Celebration of Culture organised by Surrey Lifelong Learning Partnership to kick off Adult Learners' Week.

The free shows ran from 11am to 5.30pm featuring a wide range of internationally-themed acts. Events started with Drumheads drum circle in the bandstand, and then moved over to the stage in Peacocks Walk where acts include kathak dancer Nikita, 4X4 Bhangra Dancers, Russian/eastern European band Balalaika, bollywood dancer Sita and African singer and Zulu/gumboot dancer Lucky Moyo. Woking Town Square was alive with colourful displays by the Chinese Association of Woking and Thames Valley Morris Men. There were also informative stalls where people could find out more about opportunities to learn in Surrey.

The event was an overwhelming success, reaching over 2500 people in one day and enabling a large amount of information about adult learning to be given out. It was funded by SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) to celebrate Cultural Diversity Weekend as part of NIACE's national Adult Learners' Week Campaign 2009. It is just one of a number of events in Surrey which support the new culture strategy 'Taking Part in Surrey' for an active, creative and inclusive county.