A FESTIVAL aiming to unite the Muslim and Jewish faiths will definitely go ahead next month after vital funding was secured.

Mother and daughter team, Madeline and Daisy Lees, who run Arts La’Oram, are in the final stages of putting together the first MUJU festival, celebrating music, song and dance from the two faiths.

Daisy admitted earlier this month that the event was still reliant on funding, despite the group having already secured £3,000 from Essex County Council.

Now Arts Council East has come forward with £5,000 and the event can definitely go ahead, she said.

The event will include musical genres from around the world where both faiths are followed, including workshops and performances of Egyptian dancing, Yiddish singing, Hebrew circle dance and contemporary jazz musicians.

She added: “The festival is promoted as one that respects and celebrates the two cultures and faiths and is focused on bringing alive the traditions of both.”

The festival also has the support of the Essex Racial Equality Council and will be raising funds for Medicins Sans Frontieres for their work in the Palestinian territories.

It opens on Saturday, July 4 ,with a performance from Ameen Ali Khan at Colchester Arts Centre.

For more information about concerts and workshops, visit www.mujufest.info