The first thing to note about the Wrecsam Communities Against Racism festival is that it rained. Not just your average rain, no, this was the full-on-soak-you-to-the-bone-as-soon-as-you-look-at-it rain, so it was with some trepidation that theAbsurd left Yr Wyddgrug and ventured out doors. If I’m honest we were worried that there might not be a good turn-out, torrential rain has a habit of putting people off going outside, and when ‘outside’ actually means ‘stood next to an open marquee for at least a couple of hours in pouring rain’ then it’s not the kind of thing you’d expect people to flock to.

We parked the car and made our way across town, past Wetherspoons where a number of police had already barricaded a bus-load of the English Defence League from Bolton into the pub. Suffice to say that when a bunch of fascists stand in a Welsh pub, wave the English flag and chant ‘God save the Queen’ they’re not going to get a warm reception – and they certainly weren’t speaking for any Welsh people that we knew of. The crowd of local people jeering at the EDL from outside put a stop to any ideas they might have had about marching through town too.

So, enough said about them as far as I’m concerned because across town, in Queen’s Square, was a real demonstration of peace, unity and multiculturalism in north Wales. The Wrecsam Communities Against Racism festival was in full swing with a couple of hundred people from all sections of society braving the awful weather to witness martial arts displays (from Pol Wong), music (with Kip from the Sinner Men and Andy Hickie), poetry, drum workshops and talks from various community groups. People came from across north Wales and beyond includfng university students from Bangor, ministers, socialists and various other community members who could be labelled as ‘anti-fascist’ but in truth we’re not ‘anti’ anything – we’re for community, tolerance and peace.

The highlight for me though was a talk from Dave Reid, Regional Secretary of Socialist Party Wales. It rained so hard that my notebook turned to mush so forgive the fact that I’m going to have to paraphrase him instead of direct quotes, but what this man said really spoke to me and I want to pass this on. He spoke of how, in the middle of a recession, with so many redundancies, house repossessions and so much debt, how people often look for someone to blame. He talked of how people need to come together to create a fairer system because if society's needs are met then the racist, divisive ideologies of the EDL and BNP become redundant.

Was he preaching to the converted?

Well, yes probably, but that doesn’t make what he said any less valid or relevant. The bankers have taken literally billions of pounds from all of us even though their reckless behaviour has resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs across the UK with many people unable to keep their houses or buy one because the credit market has dried up. Any initial noises that the government made about accountability and transparency in the banking system have vanished beneath the usual shiny spin about a recovery because at the end of the day the politicians are as much a part of the system as the bankers, and they look out for each other. Which means that, as usual, it is innocent people who are the target of hatred and abuse instead of the real offenders – with most main political parties having a relay competition about who can ‘send the most immigrants home’.

Okay, okaaaay, that is enough of my advert for the Socialist party - was the festival a success? Absolutely. It was a peaceful, rain-filled day where people came together to celebrate cultural diversity and understanding through art, poetry and music - and most importantly, we had a great time.

More about Wrecsam Communities Against Racism here.