The Bastille Day Festival in Reading has been nominated for a Pride of Reading award for cultural contribution.
The nominator said: “A group based in Reading wanted to put on a free family event, purely to entertain. “They put on singers, dancers, and games, which are all free, people from all over Reading attend and it reaches a great many communities.
“Bastille Reading has attracted support from the Business Improvement District (via REDA), and two of the original organisers are still central to the festival, Vincent Valere and Boubacar Dembele.
“They devote a huge amount of voluntary effort to put the event on every year, they get no reward other than seeing the amount of enjoyment people get.”
Vincent Valere, one of the founders and organisers, said: “I’ve lived in the Midlands before, and Reading feels like it is more welcoming,
“The Bastille Day festival is not just for French people to celebrate, we want everyone to feel welcome, whatever their race or nationality or their background.”
He explained: “Sometimes, being here in the UK, I didn’t always feel welcome, but I think Reading is probably one of the most welcoming places in the country,
“For me, it’s about bringing people together, and it is not just me, it is the whole group of people who I work with to put it together, so it’s for them too.”
Nominations for the Pride of Reading Awards 2022 have now closed.
To see this year’s nominations, visit: www.porawards.co.uk
