Fun for all ages at Festival at Boyd

Southbank’s multicultural Festival at Boyd will be hosted for its third time on Sunday, November 17, bringing a great range of performances, food, music, art, stalls selling recycled items, and free children’s activities to local residents and visitors alike.

Organised by the Active Southbank Community Association, the first two Festivals took place in May and August 2024, when visitors enjoyed Bollywood dancing, traditional Malaysian dances, and African drumming.

“It is about participating and getting to know your neighbours,” said Active Southbank Community Association treasurer Corrinne Kong.

From stalls stocked with second-hand treasures and handmade crafts, to children’s activities, including games and wearable art, Festival at Boyd offers fun for everyone, with different things presented each time.

“Taking into account that this is a very multicultural community, this time in November we will have a Chinese lion dance, we will have Zumba in the morning as well, and also table tennis for children,” Ms Kong said.

Rather than just watching from the sidelines, each cultural performance will be inclusive to festival participants, with previous festivals featuring salsa dancing tutorials and learning how to play the African drums.

“It’s about bringing our community together and all our performances will have an element to involve the crowd,” Ms Kong said.

Located at the Boyd Community Hub at 207 City Road, the festival will run from 10am to 4pm on Sunday, November 17.

“After one year of consultation there was a major issue highlighted by all residents here about community inclusion,” Ms Kong said.

“Basically, throughout the pandemic everyone said that they live very close to each other, but they don’t know the people here. They don’t feel connected to their community,” she said.

“We have a grant for this year. It’s called the community inclusion grant, and so definitely our purpose is to improve community connectedness in the Southbank locality.” •