Huge Success for Return of Bolton Unity Festival
Saturday 26th July saw the return of our Bolton Unity Festival. Hosted in line with our Premier League Fans Fund programme our Bolton Unity Festival brought together members from across our town before BWFC took on Preston North End for their pre-season friendly.
Taking place within the BWFC Fanzone and around the stadium footprint our Bolton Unity Festival brought together members of our community to showcase what makes our town so great. A celebration of community and unity the Bolton Unity Festival recognises the greatness of our town, a physical representation of One Club, One Community, One Town.
BWitC’s Health and Communities Manager, Hayley Ranicar, stated “Here at Bolton Wanderers in the Community we believe in One Club, One Community, One Town and events like the Bolton Unity Festival allow us to bring together people from across the community to celebrate that despite our diverse backgrounds we have a shared love for our town. The power of football and the Premier League Fans Fund project in supporting events like these is vital to ensure we drive positive change and provide positive opportunities for our community to thrive. We would like to thank all our performers, stall holders and partners for helping us make this event a huge success.”
With the Fan Zone at the Toughsheet Community Stadium opening early fans and the general public were invited to engage with members of our community and see performances from martial artists as well as traditional Indian and contemporary dancers. We would like to thank our performers from Elegance Dance, Tucum Capoeira and Sasha Roper for joining us and showcasing some of the talent present within our community.
Our African Drumming Workshop with the African Community Association of Bolton provided an interactive experience to learn and experience our diverse cultural backgrounds across Bolton. Even BWFC Chairman Sharon Brittan couldn’t resist getting involved and having a go herself.
Reflecting on the importance of events like these, Sharon said “Events like these are absolutely imperative to endorse what we talk about on a daily basis and what we embrace as part of our ethos, that you have to work together to achieve your goals, to go on your journey, to reach your destination. I just love these events where you’ve got everyone coming together, different faiths, different cultures, different backgrounds, but all coming together and understanding the power of kindness, authenticity, togetherness, and I think it’s absolutely fabulous.”
“Community is about helping each other. It’s about providing a safe place and space for people to come to when they need it.”
“This is the power of the Community and the Football Club coming together to help each other. They go hand in hand.”
Abdullah Ahmed from the African Association of Bolton when asked about the importance of Unity and our Bolton Unity Festival, “Bolton is rich of different communities, so this is a time for us to show up and everybody to join and stand together.
Community is being together. Unity as a Boltonian, all community, families, children to be joined together, that’s unity and peaceful.”
Keith Armstrong from Bolton Christian Community Cohesion reflected on the power of football in bringing community together, “I have been a Bolton wanderers fan all my life, started coming when I was around six, and I’m a season ticket holder now, and I realise how important the club is as a part of the Bolton community. Community is so important in that you’ve got to understand what is in the community and how the community is made up and built up. That’s why community is great, it’s made up of so many different people, different backgrounds, people have different understandings, different beliefs, different interests and different cultures.”
We would like to thank all our stall holders for joining us on the day and Bolton FM for supporting our performances within the Fan Zone. For more information on our Premier League Fans Fund Project please contact Hayley at hranicar@bwitc.org.uk