WE Wonder & Basant Kite Festival, Saturday 24th August, 10.00am-5.00pm
Rotherham’s first Basant Festival, South Asia’s vibrant celebration of nature, is being staged this Bank Holiday as part of Wentworth Woodhouse’s annual one-day arts and culture festival WE Wonder.
WE Wonder brings communities together to explore and celebrate Rotherham’s vibrant cultures and a full day of events and activities focusing on fun, food, arts and culture is taking place in the mansion’s West Front Gardens on Saturday 24th August.
The biggest draw is set to be the Basant Festival Zone, with spectacular kite-flying performances and chances for visitors to get involved in kite-making workshops and kite-flying.
Basant Panchami, a festival celebrated across South Asia, initially began in India as a Hindu and Sikh festival in springtime to honour Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, music and learning.
Basant Festivals often feature kite-flying and people celebrate the day by wearing yellow, eating sweet dishes, wearing jasmine garlands and displaying yellow flowers in their homes.
The Basant Kite Festival in Pakistan sees people of all ages participate in kite battles and community celebrations. Skies are filled with kites of all sizes and hues and many bear people’s wishes, prayers and messages to their Gods.
Organisers of WE Wonder turned to the people of Rotherham to make its popular summer event more inclusive. This year, the entire programme has been co-curated by the Rotherham Basant Festival Community Panel. Its members, including FLUX Rotherham, ROAR, Rotherham United Community Trust, REMA, Big Sisterz, Steel City Community Consultancy, Apna Haq, Bharat Integration Group, Age UK Rotherham and community researcher and artist Dr Zanib Rasool MBE, have shared their insight of Basant festivals across South Asia and advised on the event’s cultural activities and feel.
Visitors can roam over 50 acres of parkland to discover a vast and vibrant line-up of interactive performances, artists, live music and dance, and enjoy South Asian food from Rotherham restaurant Neelagiree.
Performers lined up include Northern Kite Group, Limelight Circus, Creature Encounter’s Summer Lion, the Bombay Baja Brass Band, the Sangeet Choir and the Hameed Brothers, who will sing in traditional Qawwali-style.
In addition to kite-making, visitors can try their hand at calligraphy and make mandala art and flower seed bombs. At the summer herbaceous border, children and adults can take inspiration from English blooms as they paint papier-mâché eggs, a medieval Kashmiri art.
Victoria Ryves, Head of Culture and Engagement for Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust said: “Every year, our inclusive and diverse WE Wonder Festival gives Rotherham’s many communities the opportunity to come together, enjoy our gardens and celebrate each other’s arts and culture experiences.
“While the house stages the exhibition Beneath The Surface: George Stubbs and Contemporary Artists in its State Rooms to celebrate the life of one of England’s greatest 18th century artists, in the gardens there will be a strong South Asian theme, thanks to the people of the Basant Community Panel.
“Many panel members have roots in Asia and India and shared a huge amount of knowledge about what a Basant festival should feel like and look like. With their families, they have created beautiful flowers and kites and dressings for the site.
“Zanib Rasool first talked to us about creating a Basant Festival in 2021 and now her vision is coming to life.”
WE Wonder is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England, FLUX Rotherham, Creative People & Places, ROAR and the Rotherham Basant Festival Community Panel.
It is free for children and registered carers. Adults enter with an £8.50 Gardens Admission ticket which you can purchase here (discounted for members of National Trust, free for RHS and My Wentworth members).