A full house at the Nuffield Theatre enjoyed Pukaar's Multicultural Music Festival in aid of Refugee Week, on Saturday 25th June 2005. Artists from all around the world based in and around Southampton played from 6pm-11pm, with legendry classical singer Ustad Rafaqat Ali Khan being the highlight of the evening.

Refugee Action's week long festival saw many events take place from the 20-26 June 2005 celebrate the contribution made by refugees all over UK. Tony McCarthy from Refugee Action, who has collaborated with Pukaar for the last few years, said: "This will be a brilliant event and what is really impressive is that there is not even a ticket available, its been sold out…Its brilliant, I'm sure everyone will have a wonderful time, and all credit to Pukaar project for the real hard work. It's a shame that there's no room to leap around madly…especially when Pukaar are playing!"

Southampton hosted another event in aid of Refugee week, as the Kingsland Community Centre in St Marys. The Refugee Community Party was a social gathering for all refugee community groups and individuals in the Southampton area. Many different refugees and local people from different ethnic origins and multicultural backgrounds enjoyed the event. The main focus was a display about Somalia and the Somalia community, which consisted of photos and articles. Food and drinks were provided by all the guests, for all the guests, which created a banquet of global cuisine.

John Linford, who is the Refugee integration worker for the Clear project, Southampton, organized the event. He said "We had people from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe. The event was really good we had different food from all the different communities. The children seemed to get something out of it, and on the whole, it was a really good day out." Pukaar also took this opportunity to promote the multicultural festival to local refugees.

After months of hard work, 25th of June finally arrived with much excitement. The days and weeks leading up to the event saw members of the Pukaar team and volunteers, handing out balloons and flyers in the town centre, as well as asking local organizations and businesses to promote the event. Southampton town centre was sprinkled with blue and white balloons, Pukaar's signature colours. It was great to see so many people come to the event who heard of it through weeks of promotion, in and around Southampton.

Renata Ruchala, a member of Board of Directors and represents the Polish community, was quoted as saying "a lot of hard work has been put into this event. I hope everything will be fine!" There were also stalls at the event, ranging from Southampton's Volunteer services and Amnesty International, as well as Pukaar's stall, which had information about the organisation. There was also a traditional clothes stall, with toys and drinks, as well as a stall showcasing and selling Southampton University student, Jigar Patel's stunning photography. Pukaar gave Jigar the opportunity to display and sell his work within the community. Members of the audience browsed through promotional information and the contents of the stalls before making their way into the 400 capacity venue.

Southampton based DJ Nicky, the city's first Asian female DJ, played a number of bhangra beats intertwined with some R'n'B to hype up the crowd before the show commenced. The show opened on time with presenters Romail Gulzar and a traditional white sari clad Shaurn Kaur who charmed the audience with their cheeky banter.

Reverend Ian Johnson, who is on the board of directors for Pukaar, thanked Romail and whole Pukaar team for staging such a worthwhile and eclectic event. He praised the organisation for its work within the community too: "Pukaar is a very worthwhile organisation in the City, crossing cultural boundaries… and that's very important."

The programme kicked of with Southampton non-profit community group, Active Arts community. Their acoustic African sound filled the theatre, by slowly introducing the different percussion drums and building up to a crescendo. The tribal beats created a welcoming atmosphere for the crowd for the first twenty minutes.

Next up was the Southampton first voluntary Chinese music group, The Silk and Bamboo Ensemble, who played traditional Chinese Chamber music. Their haunting sounds changed the tone established by the Active Arts community, to a more mellow and elegant sound, for five songs.

Traditional Kurdish musicians and dancers Koma Sersi took to the stage and delivered a very powerful performance. The four piece group, which consisted of two musicians, played a song and ended with the accompaniment of two traditional dancers. The dancers were dressed in tapestry style clothing that looked amazing amidst the stage's simplistic backdrop.

The comedy sketch 'Convenience Store' saw students from Southampton University and Institute adopting comical, exaggerated acting, with classic one-liners and side-splitting dance moves. Romail Gulzar's provided the musical score along with Mike Breen, an English and Film Studies, student from Southampton University, who wrote and directed this hilarious sketch that included 'love, life, arranged marriage….guaranteed!' The sketch is based in a convenience store where the owner is looking for a suitable suitor in customers the visit his store for his 22-year-old daughter. All characters with unique mannerisms and appropriate costumes had the crowd roaring with laughter.

Vaishali Patel, a student from Portsmouth University, said that she really enjoyed the comedy sketch, adding that "It was brilliant, and very funny….it was an overall success, and Pukaar should do more events like this." Azafar, a student from Pakistan, said "Its wonderful, it's really wonderful. The arrangement, the organisation… its wonderful. Pukaar should continue I think."

After a short interval, the programme was back on with Ecuadorian refugee artist John Ruiz taking the stage and playing some original material. His traditional Spanish inspired sound created a relaxed atmosphere as he played two songs, one being in English. He then returned on stage after a special request, to wow the crowd once more. The multicultural audience was then well and truly rocked, when Southampton based band Red Sky kicked off their set with their electrifying tunes. The four piece band, that have been together for only two years, played a set of five songs with so much passion and energy you'd would think they had been together for much longer. They closed their set with a cover version of the 'Logical song' originally done by Supertramp.

The Pukaar band took to the stage for a very special performance indeed. Not only did newer members Pari, Harpreet and Shaurn deliver great individual pieces, but they were then joined by guest of honor, the legendary Rafaqat Ali Khan, who blew the audience away with his stunning classical vocals. His energetic performance also extended to the audience, as he leapt into the crowd. He led members of the audience to the stage, and sang passionately as they were dancing. He also enlisted the help of Pukaar resident Dhol player Amit. They delivered a great performance with the support of the Pukaar band members who were all mesmerized as Amit mimicked Rafaqat's vocals on the Dhol. His presence added another dimension to the show as there was more global talent. Rafaqat also mentioned one of Pukaar's aims, and said he was proud to represent Pakistan, as the UK and Pakistan played together through Pukaar.

The Pukaar band consisted of many of the usual members, Barry Upton and 'AND' magazine editor, Martin Perry. Romail Gulzar took a break from organizing the event and keeping everyone in check to play with the band. Charles was on top form with his keyboard skills, keeping the band in shape, with Johnnie adding some great percussion to the medley original and cover songs. Party band Wild at Heart closed the show with cover versions of some English classics such as 'Build me up buttercup'.

The audience sang their hearts out, and had some funky dance moves when the five piece group played their tribute to ABBA. Everyone left in the theatre was grooving to songs such as 'Mamma Mia', 'Dancing Queen', and 'SOS'. The show closed with Romail joining 'Wild at Heart,' for a final rendition of 'paanch, che, saath, aath,' which ended a successful night perfectly. The event was sponsored by The Arts Council UK, Hampshire Constabulary, 'AND' magazine, Southampton Voluntary Services, Clear Project, and Refugee Action.

The sponsors played an integral role in the event, as their funding allowed it to take place. It was also an important that all of them are localized organizations that help local people - just like Pukaar.