A few days ago I discovered that June is actually Gypsy Roma Traveller Month.
To mark Gypsy Roma Traveller Month there’s some great events and exhibitions running across the UK into early July, such as the Roma Beyond Borders exhibition in Wolverhampton, the Baildon Green Gypsy Fair in Bradford tomorrow, a Children’s Treasure Hunt at Homerton Library, Hackney on Tuesday, where there’s also an evening of Irish and Roma music next Friday 2nd July. Check out the website to find out what’s going on near you.
Gypsy Roma Traveller Month culminates with the Gypsy Arts Festival in Stowmarket on 9th July, which includes the grand final of the national Travellers Got Talent competition. The evening promises to be a pretty big affair, with the winners of the the nine regional finals that were held ‘from Plymouth to Cambridge’ battling it out to win First Prize.
The competition has a busy Facebook page, where organisers, competitors and audience members can read and post updates. My favourite contribution on the wall is from the London regional winner Chloe:
i people this is me chloe mcdonagh who has recently sang and won the ‘LONDON TRAVALERS COMPERTITION’ going to the finals but scard i need yer suport plz show it
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Others have replied to her with their comments of support, including a particularly proud cousin.
You can see Chloe and Suffolk winner Scarlett Lee in the YouTube videos above. You can also watch last year’s winners in the film below:
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by willperrin, Talk About Local. Talk About Local said: Latest on #TAL: Gypsy Roma Traveller Month: Travellers Got Talent competition http://ow.ly/17SRe4 [...]
johny gregory you should apply for x factor on tv. but don’t sing the songs that you sing in the finals. you sing the wrong songs in the finals that is why you don’t get to the top prizes on the final. don’t do my way in any final or in any regional contest. it is a bloody boring song and judges have probably heard it 100 times. you want to sing something different like you raise me up, or a ronan keating song. you have a great voice.