Hundreds of people gathered at the Ukrainian Centre in Rochdale for the third annual Dumpling Day, a free community event celebrating the borough’s diverse cultures ahead of Refugee Week. The event was organised by Touchstones, part of Your Trust, and brought together people of all ages through food, music and creative activities.
The annual event was held to coincide with Refugee Week and drew inspiration from Rochdale’s historic Wakes Day tradition by encouraging people from different backgrounds to come together and share cultural experiences.
Visitors sampled dumplings from a range of cultures, including traditional Ukrainian varenyky and other international varieties, reflecting the role food can play in bringing communities together.
The programme also featured live Ukrainian music alongside activities including sunflower seed paper dumpling making, botanical cyanotype coaster design, seed planting, knitting and crochet.
Guests explored items from the Touchstones Collections on Tour archive and learned more about the museum’s future Dining Room space, which is due to open when Touchstones reopens next year. The new area is being developed with Community Curators from Rochdale and is intended to provide a place where people can meet, eat, socialise and engage with the museum’s collections and new artistic commissions.
Rachael Burns, Creative Engagement Coordinator at Touchstones, said, “It was brilliant to see so many people coming together again this year, sharing different food and stories from their own cultures.
“The atmosphere was incredible from the live music to the amazing food. It’s a wonderful way for people to learn about different cultures while having a great time with friends and family and the whole event was a huge success.
“Dumpling Day is all about connecting our communities, and seeing people of all backgrounds getting creative and celebrating our shared heritage ahead of Refugee Week was fantastic.”
Heywood HMO protest moved from Memorial Gardens to Civic Centre after backlash
Rochdale Mayfield secures more than £10,000 to improve community facilities
Rochdale’s Ian Murgatroyd selected to represent England Masters Rugby League
Paul Waugh says climate emergency demands urgent action to protect Rochdale
Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary chosen as The Rock charity partner for second year
Greens unveil Greater Manchester manifesto with affordable homes and free bus travel pledge
New fire station plans for Heywood move forward
Health experts share fan safety advice as heatwave continues across the UK
Students evacuated from Wardle Academy after handheld fan overheats
Mixed reaction as Heywood rat run closure trial begins
Hopwood Hall College to honour former governors by naming new buildings after them
College Bank relocation programme reaches 100 home offer milestone

Comments
Add a comment