91热爆

Last year it's thought anything up to 8000 people joined in the festivities - and if the weather forecast is correct, and we get rid of all this early July rain, it should be another big event this time around.

Rob Dunger will be presenting live from the Mela on 91热爆 Radio Suffolk between 2pm and 4pm. You can listen to the broadcast using the Listen Live link on the right >>

Be it Bhangra or Bollywood, the covered stage will provide a wide range of entertainment.

Music will feature heavily, and Amit Ghorpade from local rock trio The Ferangs is excited to be on the bill: "It's like a dream coming true," he says.

"I met Shaun in a shop in Ipswich and he told me he has a pair of tabla. We had a small jam and got into doing something together.

"Shaun has been to India and is highly influenced by Indian music. When I met Greg it was like meeting exactly the same people you always being searching for - so there was no looking back.

"We are currently working hard on our first album."

Plenty on offer at the Mela

More to Mela than music

As well as music there'll be fashion shows, Indian dance, songs, food, poetry and books, the latter courtesy of the county's library service.

There'll be a selection of the library's fiction and non-fiction, including children's books, available in the various Indic and other languages - and staff will be around to talk about library services for the Asian community.

And if that doesn't grab you - how about henna hand painting or having your name written in Bengali or Hindi script, which the library stand is also offering.

The word Mela means 'to meet' and is used to describe community celebrations and festivals in the Indian subcontinent. And certainly the event in Ipswich is open to everybody, not just the Asian community.

The Ipswich Mela is organised by the Ipswich and Suffolk Indian Association in partnership with Ip-art Festival. It starts at midday on Sunday 8 July and entry is free.