Nowka Bias

End Date

A community open event celebrating inclusion and diversity in Birmingham. One of the five event supported via the Birmingham 2022 Large Festival Fund.

Nowka Bais is the traditional form of dragon boat style racing in rural villages of Bangladesh held after the monsoon rains and reflects many of the customs of the country.

A key objective of Nowka Bais is to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in inner city areas by participating in water sports.

Nowka Bais has been held in Birmingham since 2015 and has become the main Bangladeshi cultural celebration event and one of the largest in the country. The event consists of:

Bangladeshi style boat race with 18 teams from around the country to participate
3 team women’s race
Exhibition race between organisers, politicials and representatives from the business community
A stage with live Bangladeshi music, dance and entertainment performances
Food stalls promoting Bangladeshi and South Asian and grilled foods
Arts and crafts stalls
Information stalls
Children’s fun fair
Taster sailing, bell boating and rowing facilities
Shobhajatra Procession – a colourful procession celebrating Bangladeshi culture

Two sports were represented at this event: Table tennis and soft archery

Quotes from attendees:

"Thank you, I have never tried Archery before."
"Where do I go to play Archery."

Videos