The annual St Patrick’s Day celebrations in the city and district have a multi-cultural feel this year, as the traditional day of ‘being Irish’ takes a new direction and  welcomes all communities to join the festivities as part of Council’s greater programme for better access and inclusion for all.

The St Patrick’s Day celebrations will run alongside the LegenDerry Food Festival, celebrating all types of food and a host of arts and three multi-cultural events – the ‘Ubuntu Global Festival’, ‘Urban Villages’ and the ‘Communities United Spring Festival’.

There will be two parades, taking place on Friday 17th March in Derry city centre and Strabane town centre, both feature community groups celebrating their own culture through music, dance, food and folklore. One of these is new to the carnival and forms a multicultural group from the local Hindu Association.

The group have promised to bring a splash of colour to the proceedings as they introduce elements of the ‘Holi’ festival to the parade, made possible by the efforts of members Jyoti, Piya, Ravena and Riya. A spokesperson for the group said, ‘The ‘Holi’ festival is traditionally celebrated in India and Nepal but has now become a global festival, often known as the ‘festival of colours’ or the festival of love’. It signifies the victory of good over evil, the arrival of spring and a day to celebrate with others and give thanksgiving.

‘Holi festival may be celebrated with various names and people of different states might be following different traditions. But what makes Holi so unique and special is the spirit of it, which remains the same throughout the country and even across the globe, wherever it is celebrated. It is said the spirit of Holi encourages the feeling of brotherhood in society and even the enemies turn friend on this day. People of all communities and even religions participate in this joyous and colourful festival and strengthen the secular fabric of the nation.

‘The traditional celebrations normally see participants play, chase and colour each other with dry powder and coloured water. To symbolise this, the group will dressed in colourful attires and will have Indian songs at the background as Holi Songs are an extremely essential part of the festival of colours.’

The Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Alderman Hilary McClintock said Council, who organise the St Patrick’s Day ‘Spring Carnival, work in partnership with North West Carnival Initiative to encourage community involvement in all its events. She said, “I’m very happy to see so many multi-cultured groups like Hindu Association take part in the St Patrick’s Day Parade this year.

“Our festival and events team at Council work very hard to ensure all our events encourage community involvement, creativity and family fun. North West Carnival Initiative have done a great job by bringing together different groups and cultures to create the carnival parade.”

The St Patrick’s Spring Carnival titled ‘Forever Young’, will take place from Friday 17th March until Sunday 19th March throughout the city and district. The main parades take place from the city centre and Strabane Town Centre from 2.00pm on Friday 17th March.

The LegenDerry Food Festival, celebrating local food, will take place from Friday March 17th until Sunday March 19th. Chefs, including celebrity chef Brian Turner, restaurateurs and food producers from throughout the local area will display their products to the public over the weekend in the Guildhall Square from 12.00pm until 6.00pm each day.

The Ubuntu Festival will take place on Saturday 18th March across three venues: The Craft Village, Waterloo Place and Bishop Street. The multi-cultural celebration is designed to promote global diversity and represent all cultures that make up the Council area. There will be a range of traditional music and performances, arts and crafts and exhibitions of different cultures at this free event suitable for all the family.

More information on Council’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations are available at www.derrystrabane.com/springcarnival.