SAMBALPUR: The three-day folk festival ‘Sambalpur Lok Mahotsav’ kicked off at the PHED ground here on Thursday. In the morning, a cultural procession was taken out to mark the opening of the festival. The procession started from Somnath Baba temple in the city with the participation of the organising committee members, SMC commissioner Ved Bhushan and the artistes invited to participate in the fest.
This year, over 400 artistes from Odisha and outside besides some international troupes will be participating in the festival. Apart from cultural programmes, the festival will also host art and flower exhibitions.In this edition of the Lok Mahotsav, priority has been given to the participation of local cultural teams. At least nine teams from the district will perform during the festival.
The teams which will perform at the fest include tribal Dulduli dancers from Rengali, Parab artistes from Koraput, Danda dancers from Dhama-Khinda, Sankhua dancers from Maneswar, Samprada dancers of Burda in Jujumura, Sankirtan group from Kusamura besides two troupes from Gujarat and Thailand.
The festival will conclude on January 6.