A FREE festival coming to the city centre will showcase the support, activities and services that are available for people in Leicester to use.
The event, on Saturday 13 September, will bring together a comprehensive range of information and advice to help ensure that people in Leicester who access care or support can live the lives they want to live, doing what is important to them.
Called the Leicester Communities Together festival, it will run from 10am until 4pm on Jubilee Square, and will feature a stage showcasing local talent, with performances from choirs, dancers and musicians throughout the day.
There will also be stilt performers, free face-painting and food and drink on offer from local businesses Desi Street Food and Five Fox Lane.
The festival will be a forum to connect people to services, with information and advice stalls hosted by community hubs, local support groups, council services, charities, voluntary organisations and the NHS.
It’s all part of the Leading Better Lives programme. Cllr Mohammed Dawood, assistant city mayor for adult social care, said: “Local people have told us how important it is to them that we provide services that help people to maintain independence. It’s really important that we provide the right range of services, at the right time, so that people can live the lives they want to lead.
“To do this effectively, we need to listen and learn from people who have experience of using our services. We want to work in partnership with our local communities, so that they can help to shape the services we provide. That’s what Leading Better Lives is all about, and that’s what this festival will demonstrate.”
Organisations that will be exhibiting at the Leicester Communities Together festival include Mosaic 1898, Turning Point, Age UK, Baby Basics, Vista, the Shama Women’s Centre and LAMP mental health charity.
A wide range of city council and NHS services will also be represented, including Leicester Libraries, Live Well Leicester, the Making it Real enablement team, cancer screening service and child and adolescent mental health services.
The stage programme for the day will be hosted by local arts enterprise 2FunkyArts, and will include a dance performance and workshop from BollyARKK Dance, singing from Leicester Amika Choir and Pilates demonstrations from Bounce Beyond. Performers from community groups and arts organisations including Pedestrian Arts and HQ CAN will also be on stage on the day.
Zoheb Shariff is chief executive of Mosaic 1898, a local charity for disabled people. He said: "This festival is a great opportunity for communities to come together and connect people to services. It’s also a great chance for charities like us to share more about what we do and meet with even more people, families, and communities who might need or want our support."
Mo Peberdy is from Leicester’s Making it Real group, made up of people who have experience of using social care, or care for someone who does. She said: “It’s so important that professionals, charities and community organisations work alongside people who actually use services. This festival is an important step to show how we can all work together to share information, join up services and offer the best possible support to people who need it, so that they can indeed lead better lives.”
The festival is free to attend, and all are welcome. A small access support hub will be available in Jubilee Square, loaning ear defenders, fidget toys and providing a space to sit, with access to disabled toilets at the nearby Guildhall.
More information about the Leading Better Lives programme can be found at leicester.gov.uk/leadingbetterlives
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