Hundreds flock to Walsall 'Mega Mela' event
Hundreds of people of all backgrounds, faiths and cultures have flocked into Walsall to celebrate the diversity of town.
The Walsall Mega Mela community event took place at Walsall Arboretum, Lichfield Street, on Sunday. The word 'mela' is used to describe an outdoor festival, in this case, celebrating different faiths and religions.
Around 2,000 turned up for the alcohol-free event, which boasted an exciting array of different food, music and a special bazaar of stalls selling produce from a variety of cultures.
The event, which is in its second year, has become hugely popular with the people of Walsall, bringing together thousands of people from all walks of life.
"We wanted to do something that really put Walsall on the map for its diversity and multi-culturalism," said Preeti Kular, who helped organise the event. "This is what Walsall is really about, about bringing people together to celebrate all the different cultures and nationalities and faiths in Walsall.
"Last year, people said that they expected to have to travel to Birmingham for something like this, but what we've done is created an event run by local people for local people."
The Mela was organised in association with Ambur Radio, the West Midlands' largest multicultural station, that broadcasts in English, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali and Gujrati, and reaches more than 200,000 listeners each day.
