Childrens' Parade: Four Roads Meet in Crawley

"FourRoads Meet" is the annual multifaith parade created by Crawley Mela with the support of local schools, the Arts Council and Creative Director Same Sky.  It presents the four founding cultures of the Crawley Mela - Afro-caribbean, Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist.  

This year the parade assembles in the Garden of Remembrance behind County Mall at 10:30am for an 11:00am start led by Bloco Fogo Samba street band and a giant lion. We arrive at West Green fields at about 11.45am for refreshments and a Samba concert with Bloco Fogo, also a dance workshop with choreographer Champah Shah and dancers from the Federtion of Indian Performing Arts, and a Parade Art workshop with SameSky's expert parade artists.

The parade includes students from Oriel High, St. Francis, Our Lady of Heaven, The Oaks, Pound Hill Infants, and Seymour High. Visitors welcome - if you've always wanted to join a parade, block traffic and carry something big, now's your chance!

School and Community Outreach

The Mela Association with support from our sponsors encourages local communities and artists to visit schools and community organisations to create opportunities to better understand and appreciate the varied and culturally rich society we live in.

This year we are providing Hindu dance; African storytelling and culture, Japanese calligraphy and other workshop activities throughout the year. Most African performances include support from the Crawley Afro-Caribbean Association including fashion, arts & crafts, hair and beading.

We also provide speakers on basics of Faith for schools including Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and other faith traditions, with the support of local community leaders from the mosques, Gurjar Hindu Union, Soka Gakkai UK and other local faith groups.

The Crawley Mela is a multicultural association, not an interfaith organisation: we have no opinion on matters of faith and make available speakers for schools in order to provide an essential added dimension to the understanding of any culture. All our outreach offerings are fully funded and come at no cost to schools or community organisations.

Last year, eight schools participated in the Outreach programme including Southgate Primary, The Oaks First and Middle, Waterfield County First, Thomas Bennet Community College, Bewbush Primary, Mill Primary, Langley Green Primary and Manor Green College. The feedback from schools and students has been universally excellent.

If you would like to book any of these activities for your school, please get in touch at community@crawleymela.org stating your requirement and preferred times and dates.

Saturday July 25

• 1250 Start continuity M/C Jasraj
• 1300 Sanjay (Bhajan)
• 1315 Divas Bollywood Dance
• 1335 Rishi (M/C RnB)
• 1355 Mic Righteous (M/C RnB)
• 1420 Manj Banwait (Bhangra)
• 1445 Asian Fusion (Bollywood Dance)
• 1500 Crawley YC Dancers
• 1515 Money Spinners (Bhangra)
• 1545 Mic Righteous (M/C RnB) part II
• 1600 Shaan-e-Punjab (Bhangra)
• 1615 84mm (Rock)
• 1645 Shayal
• 1700 SA Dancers
• 1715 Sanjay (Bhajan)
• 1730 Sapna Patel (Classical Indian Dance)
• 1745 Alexis
• 1800 Nada Raja
• 1815 Close

Sunday July 26

• 1250 Start Continuity M/C Jasraj
• 1300 Poem for President Obama
• 1315 Shreya (Bollywood/HipHop Remix)
• 1325 Rishi (M/C RnB)
• 1340 Asian Fusion
• 1355 Promenade reaches Community Stage
• 1450 Champah Shah Bharatnatyam Dancers
• 1530 Shaan-e-Punjab
• 1545 Dipali (Bollywood Dance)
• 1600 Djambass Arts (Ghanaian Drumming)
• 1630 Sanjay (Bhajan)
• 1700 Close