25th Glasgow Mela Kicks off at Kelvingrove Park

Some of the finest Scottish ingrediants will be celebrated as part of the Glasgow Mela today.

Celebrating it's 25th anniversary at Kelvingrove Park today, visitors will be able to sample everything from Cullen skink and stovies to the authentic curries and pakoras.

Councillor Soryia Siddique, Glasgow Life Board member and Chair of the Glasgow Mela steering group, said: “The Glasgow Mela has grown and flourished beyond the wildest dreams of everyone who organised, performed and attended that first edition at Tramway 25 years ago. It is continuing to evolve even as we celebrate this important milestone for the event, with the creation of Mela on Your Doorstep. This celebration of Glasgow’s diversity has grown to become a crucial part of the city’s cultural offering which has featured some incredible performers over the years.” Glasgow Mela is supported as part of Year of Food and Drink Scotland 2015, delivered by VisitScotland and EventScotland.

Cllr Siddique added: "The Glasgow has always been a celebration of diverse culture of Glasgow and the performances alongside the huge variety of food on offer will make the 25th anniversary an unforgettable occasion."

The Glasgow Mela is celebrating its milestone anniversary with a specially commissioned collaboration between The Dhol Foundation and the Red Hot Chilli Pipers. Both have appeared at the Glasgow Melsa in previous years but for this year's celebration they are joining forces for a special one-off performance. They'll be joined by other acts throughout the day including Abhinaya, Sacred Paws, Dance Ihayamai, Sain Tanveer Brother, Celtic Belles, Asian Deaf Club and Jamaican poet Yasus Afari.

Humza Yousaf, Minister for Europe and International Development said: "Glasgow has such a vibrant culinary scene thanks in part to the diverse communities that have come to Scotland and settled in the city bringing with them their culinary skills and cooking traditions. As part of Scotland's Year of Food and Drink, the 25th Glasgow Mela will be extra special; thanks to the celebration of traditional food from across the world and of Scottish creativity. The event will provide a fantastic opportunity to try something new and explore cooking styles from across the world using great Scottish produce.

Glasgow's first Mela was in 1990 as part of the European City of Culture and was an indoor celebration at the then newly opened Tramway. It has also been held in Queens Park, at Glasgow Green and in more recent years at Kelvingrove Park.