The community of Hyson Green celebrated its cultural diversity at a food festival today.
Hundreds of people from the local neighbourhood, and further afield, made their way to the New Art Exchange to experience food, art and performances on offer at its Melting Pot event.
Samia Brahimi, 43, was at the event selling a range of traditional Algerian foods for people to try.
Samia, who moved from Algeria to Hyson Green in 2003, said: "It is the first time I have done something at New Art Exchange but I would definitely come again.
"It is great to taste foods from different cultures and it is also a good opportunity for me to get feedback on my food. Even if it is bad feedback I can learn from it.
"This sort of event gets people to get to know each other and to explore other foods and other traditions.
"Any money I make will go towards the Refuge Forum [in Nottingham]."
Other stalls at the festival included traditional foods from Malawi, presented by the Women's Cultural Exchange, and a vegan spread by volunteers at the Sumac Centre, in Forest Fields.
Muhammed El Nahhas, 26, was selling Egyptian food at the event.
Mr El Nahhas, who moved from Egypt to Hyson Green a year ago, said: "The food I am cooking is from Egypt, but can be found in other countries too.
"It is great to see lots of varieties of food in one place and it is nice to celebrate different cultures living here."
The NG7 Food Bank was also on hand to take non-perishable food donations, and nutritionists were advising people how to cook a balanced meal for you and your family.
Hyson Green community organiser Farouk Azam, was at the event to ask local residents what they thought of their neighbourhood.
Mr Azam said: "Hyson Green is a very diverse community and there is a lot that could be done with that. Events like this are a great way to get people together and food is a good way to bring them in.
"It is also about getting myself out there and making myself more visible to those in the community. Some people I meet are not sure how to go about making change but my job is to help them find the right people and develop their ideas."
Jonathan Lee, of Sherwood, made a lunch trip to the Melting Pot with his four-year-old son Isaac - who pedalled his way to a smoothie at The Smoothie Bike Company stall.
Jonathan, 40, said: "We saw the event advertised and thought we would come down. I think it is brilliant - and it smells fantastic. I am looking forward to trying some of the food. It is great to get different cultures mixing together."
Roshni Belakavadi, Melting Pot programmer, said: "Melting Pot is an attempt to create a common ground that blurs falsely discerning lines between the artist, community, academic and audiences through the celebration of food and culture. We also want to showcase the cultural richness of the people living and working in Hyson Green and surrounding areas to each other and the wider city through this festival."
The festival is also on tomorrow from 12pm to 5pm. Admission is free.
Did you go along to the festival? What did you think? Tell us below.
