Polish folk musicians rubbed shoulders with Nepalese dancers for an afternoon of music, food and entertainment at the 13th Maidstone Mela in Mote Park on Sunday.

Poor weather did not dampen the spirits of the thousands of residents who joined the party, which celebrates the wealth of cultural diversity in Maidstone Borough.

From 12.30pm Kent band The Choos performed their up-beat covers followed by Kitka, a Bulgarian folk dance troupe and Reel Eire Irish dance troupe.

Gillingham Dramatic Society then impressed with a preview of their forthcoming show ‘Honk’, coming to the Hazlitt theatre in October.

The second half of the lineup included hit vocal trio Imminent, Polish band Piwnica pod Aniolami (Cellar under the Angels) and Maidstone Nepalese Community Group, before the Mela was given a spectacular send off by the Bob Marley reggae hits of headline act Trenchtown Experience.

As well as a feast for the eyes, more than 50 stalls crammed into Mote Park offered food from around the world as well as interactive workshops, charity and information stands.

The Mela was organised by Maidstone Borough Council in partnership with Cohesion Plus, Mela Steering Group and Kent Equality Cohesion Council.

Gurvinder Sandher, artistic director at Cohesion Plus said: “ I was delighted to see so many people come out in the poor weather to enjoy what has become one of the largest culturally diverse celebrations in Kent.

Mr Sandher added: "Great credit needs to be given not only to Maidstone Borough Council but all the volunteers who have helped make the Mela the success it has become today.

“When we started all those years ago we could never imagine how big the Mela would become in Maidstone.”

For more pictures see this Friday's KM.