 Mon 21st May to Thu 21st June 2012  SolaMatik Festival returns this summer for the biggest spectacular yet, taking place in venues all across the North of England with events happening in Bradford, Leeds, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Skipton, York, South Yorkshire and Manchester. Ending after the Solstice, expect a never ending cavalcade of creativity, with plenty of fascinating events happening for all the family each and every day. Whether its world beats, reggae, soca, folk, punk, funk, soul, house, techno, or dubstep that rocks your world, if you appreciate art installations, live drama, photography, or film, or are looking for activity workshops to actively participate, SolaMatik's your dream come true, your oyster of opportunity, your golden egg freshly laid from the goose of opportunity. And most fittingly in these troubled times of financial depression, most if not all events are free of charge, and everybody has a chance to host your own special event to include into the Official Festival Programme (please contact us for further details).
 SolaMatik is one of the UK's most vibrant and exciting multi-venue, multicultural arts and music festivals, with endless variety ensuring enclusivity for all the public. There really is something for everybody with hundreds of concerts, gigs, exhibitions and hands-on events guaranteed to ensure summer goes with a bang. Watch out for an amazing celebratory culinary and auditory experience, the first-ever Global Food Friday, which takes place on Friday the 1st of June 2012, encorporating live music, international dancers, DJs, cupcake and chocolate workshops, and an incredible array of food originating from around the globe, celebrating the cultural origins of Bradford's diverse population. The main event in Centenary Square will feature an outdoor stage, participatory workshops, live cookery exhibitions, a large cosmpolitan café space, and the Food4Thought tent where you can interact and learn about the environmental, social and ethical concerns related to food production. In addition to the main food stalls Bradford's Treehouse Café will be providing vegan food, and fair trade coffee and chocolate will also be available. Oxfam is our chosen charity, and they will be present on-site, both fundraising and raising awareness about their famine-relief projects.
 We're not afraid to do things differently with our not-for-profit universally-focused Matik Festivals. Preceeding the open-air festivities of Global Food Friday, is a visual spectacle of street theatre which cannot be ignored. Following a brief day's launch at Bradford's Oastler Centre, and the Ministry of Food at 10.30am, local schoolchildren dressed in carnival costumes either as chefs or giant fruits and vegetables, will lead the Food Chase in a suitably Pythonesque manner around the City Park, ending at 12pm, at Centenary Square, where Bradford's Lord Mayor and special invited guests will launch the free public events, which will go on until 10.30pm at night, followed by the Official Afterparty with MADM, R:EVOLVE and Matik DJs including Kath Canoville from BCB 106.6FM's fortnightly world fusion radio show, through to until 5pm (18+). Expect a tropical whirlpool of supercool rare tracks from every continent, when founder of Nation Records Kath Canoville takes to the decks. Involving young people and kids in this strange and wonderful event, while providing a post-event chill out party for for everybody who has spectated or taken part in the action (18+), to kick back and rave, we are providing entertaining activities for all ages, people and communities all day and on until the evening.
When the sun begins to set, a vast number of Bradford's bars, cafés and restaurants are also joining in the action, hosting satellite GFF events, Asian, Italian, Polish, African and Carribean food establishments sharing cultural vibes with the wide public, infusing welcoming hospitality with traditional international cuisine, bringing people together in a congenial melting pot of herbs, spices and mutual understanding.
 EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN   Other exciting activities happening as part of SolaMatik 2012 include the City of York Folk Weekend in York, brass band concerts in Ilkley, jazz concerts in Halifax, theatrical productions in Otley, brass rubbing in Keighley, wildlife walks in Wakefield, a family fun day at Bradford City Football Club, live hip hop and funk bands in Leeds, trains in Manchester, TGU world music club nite in Hebden Bridge (DJs and live acts TBA), Inter-Cultural Cafés in bradford's multicultural neighbourhoods, thought-provoking Refugee Week events, craft fairs, vintage vehicle gatherings, salsa taster workshops, techno raves, rock and indie gigs, art gallery and museum open days, ghost hunts and lots, lots more.  Whether you believe in the doomesday predictions of the Mayan calendar, and a comet is going to crash full-pelt into Planet Earth destroying all life, or interpret ancient phrophecies as unlocking the key to door of global consciousness, opening the eyes and ears of mankind to a brand-new interface of understanding, offering every conceivable genre of entertainment from the modern to the traditional, from stone circle shindigs to all-nite parties, we are doing our utmost to ensure you have an enjoyable and memorable 2012.
 Beyond the glitzy galleries and cafe bars of modern city life, creativity is florishing in every nook and cranny, in both urban and rural communities, artistic enveavour a key facet of human existence.
It dosn't matter if you're a folkster, urban rapper, bohemian artist, headbanging rocker, scary goth, glowstick raver, raggamuffin, or classical music aficianado, there is something for everything at our neverending pot pouri of sound, visuality and consciousness. When the sun shines and the temperatures rise, it's time to slip on your dancing shoes, and let loose to the infectuous heartbeat of life!
Matik Festivals are the people's festivals, organised, performed and promoted by ordinary people not pen-pushing PR companies from London, for the sake of artistic friendship and universality. If you think getting involved with SolaMatik would be cool, get in touch, and together we can link up to help consolidate the Northern scene. It doesn't matter if you are seasoned experts at putting on gigs, concerts and exhibitions or it's something you've never done before, be it a stadium concert or a village fete, anybody and everybody can put on an event as part of SolaMatik 2012.
This festival is the non-hierarchical property of everyone taking part, from co-promoters, professional flier designers, performers, hospitality providers and backstage staff, through to volunteer co-ordinators and flier distributors. Containing a compelling mixture of local, national and international talent with both in-house and third-party events, everybody is invited to actively participate in this amazing get together of diverse creativity.
If you would like to get involved, or would like include your own event as part of LunaMatik, spreading mystery, joy, love and light throughout darkest, deepest autumn, check out Facebook (click on the link above), email Festival Co-ordinator Kath Canoville, kath@solamatik.co.uk., or visit the following link to send us a message: SOLAMATIK IS THE SUMMER WAY OF LIFE!!!
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Introducing SolaMatik Festival: |
