A festival celebrating the cultures of Aberdeen’s international community is to be held in the city later this month.
The free event at the Lemon Tree on January 30 will feature a wide range of activities including Thai dancing, Indian dancing, Chinese harp playing, African drumming, Bollywood dancing, Turkish bellydancing, Scottish dancing and rap and hip hop.
Multi ethnic Aberdeen (MeAL) and the Scottish Parliament are organising the event at the West North Street venue.
Its aim is to raise awareness of the contribution people from ethnic minority backgrounds are making to the north-east economy and local communities.
Speakers include representatives from the parliament, Community Food Initiatives North East, Aberdeen City Council, trade union GMB Scotland and Aberdeen’s multi-cultural community.
MeAL co-ordinator Godfrey Joseph, who has lodged a petition at Holyrood calling for improved translation services within the NHS, said: “People from a huge range of cultures have made such positive contributions to the local community here in Aberdeen.
“We want to celebrate that but we also want to show them that it is possible to change things nationally as well.
“Our work with the Scottish Parliament has shown us that we can take local issues and get our nation’s parliament to consider them.
“This is not unique to us at MeAL; it is Scotland’s parliament and I would encourage people to come and celebrate our cultures and look to what we can achieve when we work together.”
The festival, which includes food, is being held between 11am and 2pm.
Tickets will be available on the day at the Lemon Tree on a first-come, first-served basis.