00:00We've obviously covered the Medway Club Carnival a couple of times in the past few years,
00:04but for anyone unfamiliar with your organisation, tell me a bit more about what Medway Culture Club does.
00:10Absolutely. Well, thanks for having me on, Megan.
00:13I wanted to tell you about Medway Culture Club because we started out in 2020 amid the pandemic,
00:20just a group of volunteers who got together with a shared sense of needing unity in the community
00:26and also, you know, helping the next generation to raise their aspirations
00:30and just supporting the multicultural melting pot that is Medway.
00:36So with Medway becoming a lot more diverse, a few of us got together
00:41and we decided to start a social enrichment and cultural education service.
00:47And that's what Medway Culture Club is at its heart.
00:50Every month we put on a different workshop for young people to come together
00:54to learn about different cultures and celebrate diversity.
00:59Once a year, we have our fundraiser, which is our big flagship event,
01:04which we call the Medway Culture Club Carnival.
01:06So this year will be our sixth annual carnival.
01:09And we are having it at the Royal Engineers Museum tomorrow between 12 and 5.
01:15So the reason for the carnival, well, who doesn't like a party?
01:19But what it does do is it brings multiple generations and different cultures together
01:25to celebrate, have a good time.
01:29It's so diverse.
01:30There's people from all walks of life, but also all age brackets as well.
01:35So you see like 80-year-olds dancing in a samba class with 80-year-olds.
01:41And that's a thing to behold.
01:43It's a beautiful sight to see.
01:44So that's what we're having tomorrow at the Royal Engineers Museum.
01:49Absolutely.
01:50And this picture here is from a previous carnival.
01:52It looks like there's all sorts of fun to be had.
01:55What kind of things can people get stuck into tomorrow?
01:57So there's so much on offer at one of our carnivals.
02:00We've got something for the kids.
02:02So lots of face painting, henna design this year, but also dance classes.
02:09There's performances, actually, which is a new element this year.
02:12So we've got a few different performance troops coming along, including Shah Bangra Dee,
02:17who are a Bangra dance club, who are bringing their drummers and their dancers to show us
02:22what Bangra is all about.
02:24We've had a workshop about it before and worked with them before.
02:27So it's nice to have them come to our carnival and be part of our parade.
02:30Other things to behold will be the cultural food corner.
02:34And we'll have crafts.
02:37So there's make your own carnival headdress or rep your region and colour in a flag from
02:44a country around the world.
02:46And then you can parade it with us in one of our two carnival parades.
02:50There'll be carnival classics playing very loud and proud from our resident DJ and sound
02:57system intention studio.
02:58And the last time we spoke, actually, was during one of your Mardi Gras events, which
03:03is also a carnival.
03:04So what would you say it is about the carnival that, you know, you feel really embodies that
03:09sense of community and harmony?
03:11Well, I think who doesn't love a party?
03:14And the carnival is the ultimate party.
03:17So if we think back to the early days of the Notting Hill Carnival, which is currently
03:22about to celebrate its 60th year of taking to the streets in London, and it's now the
03:29world's second largest street festival.
03:32So we are inspired by the origins of that, the Windrush generation, namely like Claudia
03:38Jones, who's godmother of Notting Hill Carnival, but also the legacy of Asquith Xavier as well
03:44as one of the local pioneers of the Windrush generation.
03:48Absolutely.
03:49And if there's anyone sat at home watching this thinking, wow, I'd love to come along,
03:54are there still tickets available?
03:55How do people get involved?
03:57Absolutely.
03:57You can definitely walk in on the day, but we do encourage that you sign up via our website
04:02for your free tickets.
04:04You're able to make a donation to our charity to help us to continue the vital work that
04:10we're doing throughout the year.
04:11And so, or you can just come along and enjoy the celebration.
04:15So, yeah, we look forward to seeing nearly 2,000 people who have already signed up joining
04:21us at the Royal Engineers Museum tomorrow between 12 and 5.
04:25That's great.
04:26Thank you so much for joining us, Camelia.
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