Festival celebrates neighbourhood's hidden history

Heather Thomas (right) says the festival would celebrate a "down to earth" part of the city

Organisers of a three-day festival said they hoped the event would celebrate the hidden history of a city's neighbourhood.

The Kite area of Cambridge was developed in the middle of the 19th Century and attracted "industrious" people, said historian Mike Levy.

The Kite Festival, which will take place on Fitzroy Street in the city from Friday to Sunday, was founded in 2024 by Together Culture, which has gathered stories from more than 100 people who lived and worked in the area.

Heather Thomas, the group's founder, said: "We thought it was the perfect time to explore what makes the Kite feel more down to earth than other parts of our city."

Cambridge City Council said the Kite was named after the kite-shaped piece of land which lies between Emmanuel Road, Newmarket Road and East Road.

Mr Levy said: "The people who lived [in the Kite] were and had to be very industrious, they were very free spirited, free minded. They weren't living in the [Cambridge University] college areas, they were outside of that.

"As outsiders they had a sense of do or die. They had to survive somehow... a majority of people who lived here from the mid-19th Century onwards were very entrepreneurial, very creative, very energetic, very dynamic."

He added that the area was a bit like the "wild west".

The festival is organised by Together Culture, Anglia Ruskin University and The Cambridge Room, and has been funded by the Heritage Fund.

Together Cultures said it hoped the event will uncover untold stories by those that lived in the area, and attendees would discover the history of resilience and creativity in the neighbourhood.

Organisers said the festival will include immersive experiences, live performances, and conversations which "will bring the past to life".