Hundreds have gathered in Southampton to celebrate Sri Lankan culture, heritage and community spirit at a colourful festival marking the traditional Sinhala and Tamil New Year.
Sri Lankan Day Southampton took place for the first time this year, held at Oasis Academy Mayfield on Saturday.
The event featured traditional games, cultural performances, food stalls and live music as more than 300 people attended the family-friendly celebration.
Organisers said the event was designed not only to celebrate Sri Lankan traditions, but also to share them with the wider Southampton community.
Madhawa Rawlins, who headed up the organising team, said: "The festival celebrates the traditional solar New Year and the end of the harvest season.
"There is always a lot of fun and games around this time and the history of this festival stretches back generations as it is held to mark the end of the harvest for all the farmers and cultivators.
"We live very far away from back home in Sri Lanka and after coming to the UK 20 years back I want to be able to share our culture with the community of Southampton and say thank you for everything the nation has done for us.
"In London, Manchester and Liverpool they always do a big festival but we noticed Southampton had nothing.
"We wanted our children to be able to experience our culture, just as we did when we grew up, but I also want the people of Southampton to come and experience Sri Lankan culture."
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He continued: "I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has come along today and to all those volunteers who helped me organise. We hope to do this again the future."
Visitors watched dance performances, sampled traditional Sri Lankan food and took part in games throughout the day, while children and families embraced the vibrant atmosphere.
Among the traders at the event was Southampton baker Suki Kaur, who was selling handmade cupcakes.
She said: "I’m the founder of Cukis Cake Kingdom and I started selling my cakes about seven years ago now right from my home in Southampton while I work in a school full-time.
"The festival has been such fun and it’s great to have something local to celebrate the cultures we have around our city."
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