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The real heroes in your community again feature in the list of nominees for this year's Fusion Awards.

This year's event will be held at the Premier Suite Ewood Park on Saturday 24 May and aims to recognise those who do so much community work but are not always in the public domain.

Keeping with the Fusion awards tradition the list is again made up of people and groups from all walks of life and cultures.

An example is the Behna Group of Great Harwood who are nominated in the Community Group of the year section. The group get by on a weekly basis on a £5 membership fee from attendees.

Also featured in the Community Group of the year section is the Brookhouse Advisory Group made up of young people whose projects have received national recognition.

In the Blackburn with Darwen Council and Lancashire Constabulary Community Cohesion Award section Trish Ferrarin and Judy Smith of the Revidge Community Association join the Bolton Interfaith Council and Omar Khan of Preston United. The play 'From One extreme to the other' by the GW Theatre Group, which was this year performed to hundreds of school pupils, is also nominated.

The event is being sponsored by UCLAN, Nationwide Leasing, Blackburn with Darwen Council in partnership with Lancashire Constabulary, No Limits and Asian Image.

Canon Chris Chivers, who helped to launch a series of groundbreaking projects looking at Interfaith relations, is one of the Man of the year finalists. He joins Muhammed Matadar who this year became a Premier League Official. Outspoken media commentator Mohammed Shafiq of the Ramadhan Foundation is also nominated.

The Asian Image Woman of the year list includes Tayabah, Monica and Fatima who raised money for a Domestic Violence charity by organizing a women only event. And Feeraz Begum of Caring Today whose group caters for families with disabled children.

A special award for sports coach of the year has also been announced in memory of Mumtaz Elahi a Ju Jitsu instructor who died this year aged only 46. The award will be presented to a sports coach whose efforts have made a valued contribution to both Asian and non-Asian communities.

Fusion 08 will feature a series of stunning fashions shows from some of the hottest designers in the North West. There will also be a series of Bollywood dance acts.

FULL LIST: Community Group of the year: Behna Group (Great Harwood) Nauheed Kauser; Brookhouse Community Action Team (Blackburn); Building Bridges Pendle (Nelson); Our Independence (Altrincham); Youth In Action (Preston).

Man of the year: Canon Chris Chivers (Blackburn Cathedral); Muhammed Matadar (Premiership Official); Mohammed Shafiq (Ramadhan Foundation) Asian Image Woman of the year: Mussurut Zia (Lancashire Constabulary); Feeraz Begum (Caring Today); Tay Jiva, Fatima Patel and Monica Bhagchandani (Ethical Entertainment) The Blackburn with Darwen Council and Lancashire Constabulary Community Cohesion Award 'One Extreme to the Other,' (Oldham Play); The Bolton Interfaith Council; Father Phillip Sumner; Omar Khan of Preston United; Trish Ferrarin and Judy Smith (Revidge Community Association).

The NO LIMITS Entrepreneur of the year Kay Gire (Nirvana Life Centre for Well-being) Blackburn; Penny Virdee (Style Rooms); Rukshanda Ibrahim (personalisemydummy.com) Bolton; Shabnam Naz Khan (Maria's Cash & Carry / Maria's Farms) Nelson.

Public Service award: Hena Begum (East Lancashire Children's Home); Mr Humayun Shouib (National Probation service); Sadiq Patel (Council for Voluntary Service); Sheela Solanki (Blackpool Borough Council); The Nationwide Leasing Sports Personality Award Prabha Halai, Bend it Like Beckham Project; Ferrari Faqiri, (Taekwondo); Ibrahim Shah (Audley Boxing Club) Contact on request Maira Malik (Karate, Liverpool); The UCLAN Education Achievement: (To be presented by the University of Central Lancashire) No finalists

5:27pm Monday 21st April 2008

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