A celebration of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller culture will take place in Cardiff next week.
As part of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month 2010, young people from the Shirenewton site will be taking part in a day of entertainment at the Pierhead Building in Cardiff Bay on Tuesday June 29.
Children from schools across Cardiff took part in a competition earlier this year to design posters to promote the event with 10-year-old Charlotte Price from Moorland Primary winning with her depiction of Gypsy and Traveller culture. Second place went to six-year-old Maize Price, also of Moorland with third place being shared by Amirah Alsisi and Elin McAloney of Severn Primary.
The winning artists were presented with a framed copy of their posters at a special ceremony at the Senedd last month and competitions entries are currently being displayed in County Hall an Central Library ahead of the celebration event.
This year’s event, from 10am to 2pm, builds on the success of last year when there were circus performances, storytelling, dancing and fortune telling.
Young people from Shirenewton will be performing work they have been preparing over recent weeks with the NoFit State Circus, who will also be running circus skills workshops for the general public at the event. Cinetig Animation Company will be holding animation workshops based upon their film of Welsh Gypsy, Roma and Traveller history in Wales while members of the local Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities will be demonstrating the traditional skills of flower making, basket weaving and peg making accompanied by traditional storytelling and the dancing of Kathleen Cassidy and Daniel Flynn.
Executive Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, Cllr Freda Salway, said: “Gypsy, Roma and Traveller history month is a great opportunity for members of that community to celebrate their own culture but also share aspects of their tradition and history with the wider community. The posters the children designed to promote the event are wonderful and I’m sure they will attract people’s interest to come along to next week’s event.
“Cardiff Council’s Traveller Education Service is committed to inclusion, life-long learning and has an ethos of ‘High Achievement for all’. Events such are this that celebrate Gypsy, Roma and Traveller culture raise self esteem, which is essential for the personal development of young people. We are all looking forward to another enjoyable day again this year.”
