Exeter Respect Festival

Exeter Respect Festival is the city’s annual free festival celebrating diversity. People come from across the city and far beyond for two days of celebrations, music and creative arts in Belmont Park, Newtown. This festival provides an opportunity for many diverse and sometimes marginalised communities to be visible and to contribute by sharing aspects of their culture through performance, trading e.g. handicrafts, and just by being there. There were dance performances by primary and secondary schools, and storytelling from around the world – including the tale of how Ganesh, the Hindu god, got his elephant head.

This year at the Zebra stall we invited people to contribute to our “respect” bunting, answering the simple question, “What is respect?”, either in a few words or through drawing. The stall was busy throughout the weekend as people built an eclectic, composite work of art, which is now brightening up our office at the Devonport Guildhall.

The festival started in 1997, and has grown and grown – an estimated 20,000 people came through this year. The Respect festival’s success and very existence is reliant on the support of local people and community groups, social enterprises and charities, Exeter City Council, and business.

Next year the festival will be on 1st and 2nd June. For more info contact info@exeter-respect.org