Tottenham sport and arts festival helps to celebrate spirit of Paralympics

by Tim Lamden Saturday, September 1, 2012
3:00 PM

Hundreds of people descended on Tottenham Green Leisure Centre to enjoy a thrilling festival of entertainment to celebrate the power of disability arts and sports.

Cirque Nova at Tottenham Green Leisure Centre. Picture: Tony Gay.

Ahead of yesterday’s Paralympics Opening Ceremony, the leisure centre in Philip Lane hosted the Mayor of London’s SHOWTIME festival on Sunday, stopping in Haringey as part of a seven-week tour of London boroughs.

Crowds at the festival were treated to dramatic open-air performances and street gigs, as well as offered information on a range of activities available to disabled residents throughout the borough.

Alongside the SHOWTIME activities, Haringey Council also ran the PARAde festival for visitors on the day, which included a number of indoor activites such as free swimming for anyone with a disability and demonstrations from the British Wheelchair Basketball Association.

Outside, arts group Lyrix Organix brought their Relay tour to Haringey with a “360-degree celebration” of outdoor art, involving musicians, spoken word performances, beatboxing and freestyle rap.

Lyrix Organix at Tottenham Green Leisure Centre. Picture: Tony Gay.

Throughout the day, Lyrix Organix artist Joanna Layla, 31, painted a canvas depicting wheelchair basketball player Ade Adepitan beside a lion.

She said: “It was amazing, there were lots of requests for the canvas to come back to Tottenham. The idea is that as a Paralympian, Ade is calling on the spirit of the lion and its bravery.”

The action-packed day was rounded off by Haringey Mayor Cllr David Browne, who officially adopted the council’s Inclusive and Active 2 strategy, aimed at improving sport and physical activity for disabled residents.

He said: “It was inspiring to see so many disabled people from the borough showing exactly what can be achieved in sports and arts.”