New balti festival coming to the Black Country
A balti festival will see Lye High Street closed to traffic with stalls lining the road for the first-time event.
Festival organisers have begun meeting with Lye's 'Balti Mile' of restaurants to discuss ideas.
The new event is a key part of the expansion plans for the annual Black Country Festival, after the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership agreed last month that it should receive an extra £200,000 in funding over the next three years.
Centred around Black Country Day on July 14, but with a variety of events taking place throughout the month, the festival celebrates the best the region has to offer, and co-founder Steve Edwards is keen that the balti curry is included.
He said: "The Black Country is renowned for its curries, especially the balti. It came to the Black Country around 50 years ago, and is now right at the heart of our food and culture.
"The idea is that we will have the High Street closed off, and all the restaurants will have stalls serving food to visitors.
"The restaurants we have spoken to already have lots of ideas and want to take part."
One curry house which is looking forward to the event, and has already met with Steve to discuss their involvement, is Malik's Restaurant on Dudley Road.
Team member Amir Hussain said: "The area is already well-known for this kind of cuisine, but we are hoping it will promote the area even more and benefit all the restaurants."
No date has been confirmed for the Balti Festival yet, although it is likely to fall on or around the official Black Country Day on July 14.
