A COMMUNITY festival showcasing more than 35 nationalities returned to Boscombe this weekend with visitors enjoying a multicultural mix of food, singing and dancing.
The World of Love festival, which was called off last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, came back with a bang to Kings Park on Saturday and Sunday.
Aiming to bring together representatives of cultures from around the globe, the free entry World of Love event welcomed representatives from Nigeria, the Philippines, Poland and Brazil to name a few.
Visitors were treated to tantalising cuisine options with a variety of kebab, stir fry and vegan dishes – which could be enjoyed by listening to acts like Filipino Europe Tala singing champion Aldrin Dagui.
Christine from Poole said: “Often when you hear about an event that’s free, you can be a bit wary of quality. But actually, this is a really nice, friendly and welcomed event.
“Who doesn’t love seeing people come together to celebrate each other? Also, they couldn’t have picked a better day for it. It’s beautiful.”
- Read more: World of Love festival returns this year
Anthony, a representative of the Igbo Community in Dorset group, said: “We are here to celebrate and showcase our culture. Igbo is a tribe from the eastern part of Nigeria who we represent by living and working here in Dorset.
“Today we wanted to join the rest of the nations here to mix our communities. It’s fantastic, on Saturday we had a cultural dance group who got all sorts of people up and performing – they did very well. Also, kudos to the event organisers who have been so kind to us.”
Visitors were also encouraged to take part in workshop stalls, dance classes, face painting, language games and children’s crafts.
Among the visitors was Boscombe resident Anderson Funfe, originally from the north west region of Cameroon in central Africa. He said: “I like the mixing of the cultures from different parts of the world. We all come from different places but bring little pieces of our heritage with us that we can use to contribute positively to local wellbeing.
“It’s also a great opportunity for me to showcase my clothing. What I’m wearing is the toghu which is traditional dress from my region of Cameroon. I’ve lived here since 2005 and whenever there are cultural activities going on in the area, I love attending. Whether it’s Pride or something like this, I’ll be there.”
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