From August 12th the 15th Appleby Fair will host the Drive to Survive Big Top, a nomadic venue where everything from Appleby’s Got Talent to an exhibition on the Romany Holocaust will educate people about the vital importance of celebrating and defending Gypsy, Roma and Traveller culture.
With visitors to Europe’s biggest Gypsy Horse Fair expected to number in the ten’s of thousands, Appleby Fair will feature all the stalls, horses and socialising it has for many years, but this year it will also be different.
The Drive 2 Survive campaign, working in close cooperation with hereditary Appleby organiser and Shera Rom Billy Welch, is creating a venue for a more public exhibition of our cultures and issues that our communities face.
Programme:
Friday 13th of August
3:30 – 5:30 Screening of films on Gypsy, Roma and Traveller culture
6:00 onwards – Appleby’s Got Talent Open Mike Night, bring your instruments, talent, a backing track and your voice!
Saturday 14th of August
1pm to 3pm – Traditional Romani Kris, where family heads of ethnic Romany Gypsy, Roma, Irish Travellers and Scottish Travellers debate and discuss a unified response to the government’s attempt to stamp out nomadic life in the Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill
3:30 to 5:30 Screening of films about the Romany holocaust
6:00pm Premiere of Summer of Discontent, the story of Drive 2 Survive so far
6:15 onwards Live Music from Bill Lloyd, Roma Ando Glaso Collective from Glasgow and others
Sunday 15th August
Drive to Survive Open Meeting: How do we defeat the Police Bill?
If you want to take part, contact details are below:
