Excitement is growing about the 75th Windrush anniversary celebrations taking place in Southport this June.
It will include a family friendly fun day in the Town Hall Gardens in Southport town centre on Saturday 24th June 2023, with live music, Caribbean food, story and craft tents and more.
The festivities are being organised by the Southport African Caribbean Heritage Association.
This year will mark 75 years since the arrival of the Empire Windrush ship from the West Indies to Britain in 1948, a year which coincided with the birth of the NHS. The two events are very much linked. Many in the Windrush generations have worked in the NHS and helped to shape what it has become. .
Windrush Day is celebrated on 22nd June every year – the date the HMT Empire Windrush arrived in the UK.
The night before, at 5pm on Wednesday 21st June, the Windrush Flag will be raised for the first time at Southport Town Hall.
Southport African Caribbean Heritage Association Vice Chair and Founder Gemma Collins said: “We are really excited about our 75th Windrush anniversary event in Southport!
“Word is spreading and we are getting lots of interest from people.
“This is going to be a free, fun event that is perfect for children and for families.
“We are looking forward to seeing everyone there.
“We now have our banners up at Hesketh Park, and are talking to as many people as we can.
“There will be lots there on the day that people can enjoy.
“We have Nanny Pearl’s there providing authentic Caribbean food. They were very popular at the recent Southport Food and Drink Festival!
“There will be dance workshops, carnival workshops and Afrobeats.
“We have the Caribbean Regal Steel Band providing live music throughout the day.
“There will be a story tent and a craft tent, with lots for children to enjoy.
“It is going to be a really family friendly event.
“We would also love to welcome any volunteers, or any litter pickers who would love to join us. Southport Rubbish Friends have kindly lent us some litter picking equipment.
“The Living Well bus will be there offering health advice to people. Stop Hate UK will have a stand there, offering advice on how to report hate crimes.
“At 5pm on Wednesday 21st June 2023, the Windrush Flag will be raised at Southport Town Hall. We would like to mark that with an intimate ceremony.
“This has never been done before in Southport.
“It is very symbolic. We are looking forward to welcoming people from the community that we might not have seen for decades.
“My grandfather’s generation, and their children, are coming forward to let us know they are interested in being involved since we announced this. They will be invited to join us at Southport Market following the flag raising.
“We would love to see this happen every year, not just to celebrate the 75th anniversary.
“Before this celebration, we would have had to travel to places like Preston to find any Windrush events, so it is nice to be able to do this in our home town.
“We are very grateful to the National lottery Fund and to Living Well; funding through Sefton CVS to enable this event to happen.
“Since we announced our Windrush 75th anniversary celebrations, the reaction has been really positive and very encouraging.
“Some people have been unsure what the Windrush anniversary event is all about, which is not a bad thing.
“This is a great opportunity for anyone to come along, chat with people there, and find out what this is all about.
“We would love to be able to raise as much awareness as we can.
“We want to highlight the huge contribution made to the UK by the Windrush generations, and to get the message across that for so many of them, it has been a struggle.
“So many people in Southport and across the UK were directly impacted by the Windrush scandal.
“We are organising this event because this is all very personal for everyone involved.
“It is all about celebrating our heritage.”
Gemma’s grandparents, Charles and Ruth Collins, were part of the Windrush generation when they came to the UK from Barbados in 1957 and 1958. Her father, Michael Collins, arrived here when he was 13 years old in 1967.
Gemma said: “Many people know about the Windrush Scandal, but many don’t realise how much it has affected people so close to home.
“Now is the right time to acknowledge what happened and to celebrate the people of the Windrush generation and to thank them for what they achieved.
“We want the event to be for people in the Windrush generation to be able to say – ‘someone has finally noticed us’.”
For more details about Windrush 75 in Southport please email: africancaribbeansouthport@gmail.com
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