Fusion Festival July 2008 - Whalley, Surrey, Canada

Bhangra superstar Jazzy B Juno award-winning recording artist Jully Black will headline Surrey’s first summer festival July 18-20 in Holland Park.

Award-winning recording artist Jully Black, longtime Celtic crooners The Chieftains and bhangra superstar Jazzy B will headline a three-day festival in Surrey this summer.

The City of Surrey is hosting its inaugural Fusion Festival from July 18-20 in Whalley as the main event related to the city’s designation as the 2008 Cultural Capital of Canada. The free festival will showcase the area’s diverse cultural groups by way of 40 international pavilions with music, food, costume and dance.

It’s anticipated more than 60,000 people will attend, making it the largest multicultural event in Surrey history.

Jully Black won a Juno Award this year for her Revival album, featuring the hit Seven Day Fool. The Chieftains have been around since the early 1960s, cutting dozens of albums of traditional Irish music over the decades, while Jazzy B has been a household name since coming onto the bhangra scene with his exceptional voice and bold lyrics in the early ‘90s.

Other musical acts taking to the stage include Hayley Sales, Alex Cuba, KS Makhan, Nathan, Pascale Picard and Zaki Ibrahim. Dance presentations will feature Irish, Korean and Chinese styles, as well as bhangra, hip-hop, salsa, calypso and modern tap. Actors, traditional dancers, singers, acrobats and drummers from the Fusion Chinese Spectacular will also be present.

“Our city is becoming more diverse every year,” said Coun. Mary Martin, chair of the multicultural advisory committee. “Being able to experience the music, dance, food and heritage of over 40 distinct cultural groups will provide our residents with an increased understanding and appreciation of our multicultural community.”

The Fusion Festival will take place at Holland Park, located at King George Highway and Old Yale Road, July 18-20.