A COUNTY’S different ethnic communities will be celebrated in a new festival next week.

Organisers of the Diverse Durham festival say it will celebrate the diversity of communities who live, work and study in County Durham.

Residents are invited to attend events aimed at promoting positive messages about people from Durham with different faiths, cultures and backgrounds.

The event will run from June 16 to 18, ahead of Refugee Week, which runs from June 21 to 26.

The festival will begin with a screening of Arna’s Children, a 2003 documentary about a children’s theatre group in the Palestinian territory, at Clayport Libary, in Durham, on Thursday, June 16, at 7.45pm. Admission is £3 for members of Clayport Film Club and £4 for non-members.

Atist Chrissie Morgan will lead a tapestry workshop focusing on identity, titled Spinning Stories, in Clayport Library on Friday, June 17, from 10.30am to 3.30pm. Places are free but should be booked in advance.

A day of activities will be held in Clayport Library and Millennium Place on Saturday, June 18.

There will be Chinese writing, storytelling and more in the library; while on Millennium Place there will be a multicultural celebration day, with belly dancing, African drumming, Japanese calligraphy and origami, information from Oxfam and the Gateway World Shop, Fairtrade coffee from Merry Monk and Polish food. The event will run from 10am to 4pm.

To book a place at any of the library sessions, call 0191-3864003.