'Elephant' to lead festival parade in city centre

A life-size model of an elephant will lead a procession through Bradford city centre to mark the start of the festival

A life-size elephant puppet will be the centrepiece of this year's Bradford South Asian Festival.

The theme for the weekend's event, called Shadmanny, is South Asian wedding celebrations.

Shadmanny is a Yorkshire-accented play on shaadmaani, a Hindi/Urdu word for celebration and joy.

Rahila Hussain, co-director of the festival at Bradford Arts Centre, said visitors were encouraged to become wedding "guests" as part of an interactive experience.

The elephant will lead a procession through Bradford city centre to mark the start of the festival.

She said: "It's a tradition, in some of the South Asian countries, for your wife-to-be to arrive on an elephant.

"We thought what better way of introducing the people of Bradford to the wedding culture?

"This year our festival is all about the word celebration - shaadmaani - and that beautifully connects with all things celebrating weddings, wedding culture and the traditions."

The theme for this year's festival is based around the traditions of South Asian weddings

Bradford Arts Centre reopened earlier in the week after a £7.5m refurbishment.

It will be filled with music, film, food, arts and craft workshops, storytelling and immersive experiences as part of the festival.

Aamta Tul Waheed is the festival's producer.

She said: "Weddings are one of the most joyful things we do as humans, and we want to open that glorious, technicolour world up for everyone to experience."

Children from across Bradford, including some from Bankfoot Primary School, were involved in making a special shawl for the elephant puppet as part of the lead-up to the festival.

Alex Croft, CEO of Bradford Arts Centre, said he was "delighted" the festival was taking over for its opening weekend.

He said: "Each year the festival is an explosion of joy and we are really proud to be its home.

"This year's Shadmanny theme is especially exciting - I can't wait to take part in some of the wonderful traditions and rituals that make South Asian weddings so special."

The festival is supported by the Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture's Artist Led Awards fund and the Give Bradford Creative Communities programme.

A decorative shawl for the elephant features drawings by schoolchildren from across Bradford

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