Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 2017 gets underway

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival gets underway today with a special public Eid Al-Fitr celebration in Lodge Lane.

Tiber Square will become the hub for a day of community festivities marking the end of Ramadan as well as the start of this year’s LAAF.

Performers at the event include Sound of Yemen, Anwar Ali, David Owen and Reham Al-Hakimi.

The family-friendly cultural entertainment, food, arts and crafts, has all been made possible thanks to a grant from the Big Lottery Fund.

Meanwhile as part of the day’s activities, Kuwait-born food writer Sarah Al-Hamad will lead a special Lodge Lane Food Trail, taking city foodies on a tour of some of the different independent restaurants and food businesses in the L8 area.

This year’s LAAF runs over nine days, from July 8-16, and explores the theme of ‘The space between us’, responding to Liverpool’s city-wide 67-17: 50 Summers of Love season. The title is taken from a lyric from George Harrison’s Within You Without You on the Sgt Pepper album.

Sacre Printemps! (photo by Blandine Soulage)

Organisers are promising a packed week of theatre, music, visual art, dance, literature, film, food and family fun at venues across the city including FACT, Bluecoat, World Museum, Unity Theatre, Liverpool Central Library, and Sefton Park Palm House which will be the venue as always for the LAAF Unison Family Fun Day on Sunday, July 16.

There is also fun for all the family at World Museum Liverpool next Saturday, July 15, when people of all ages can discover the creativity, captivating stories, and fascinating traditions of the Arab diaspora.

LAAF chairman Taher Qassim says: “We work hard to bring the best and most exciting talent to Liverpool each year, and 2017 is no different.

“While the events, from music to dance to performance to a food-led celebration, are very different, many of them share a common theme – that of bringing cultures closer together. And of course, the theme of this year’s LAAF explores the boundaries and spaces between us.

“It’s certainly going to be a stimulating, thought-provoking and entertaining nine days.”

For the full programme details, visit the LAAF website HERE.