KOCHI: To revive beach tourism in Vypeen and surrounding areas, a group of art lovers are organising ‘Vypeen Folklore Fest’ from December 29 to 31. The festival will be a platform for artists who lost several opportunities to the Covid outbreak, said the organisers. Nearly 500 artists are expected to participate.
“Post Covid, tourism sector in and around Vypeen is in ruins. Many people lost their jobs. Artists are also in a terrible situation. To help them and to give the public a space to cooperate, we decided to conduct the folklore festival,” said A P Prenil, general convenor of Folklore Festival.
A 25-km long cultural rally will be held from one end of Vypeen to the other, displaying celebrations of the folklore artists. Apart from the performances, a food festival displaying regional delicacies will also be held. As many as 101 graffitis displaying folklore art forms of the state will be presented and it is expected to be the longest in Kerala.
The festival will be held across six stages — Njarakkal maidan, Valappu, Nayarambalam and Edavanakkad — and will have events like onakkali, nadan paattu, chavittunatakam, theyyam, padayani, thullal, parichamuttukali, mappila art forms, kalamezhuthu and villadichan pattu from 4pm till 10pm. Puthuvypeen, Kuzhuppilly, Cherayi and Munambam beaches will be main venues for the festival.
Kite flying workshop and festival will be held during the day. Children will be trained to make sand sculptures. The festival will start with a ghazal concert and end with a silent and colourful display of firecrackers to welcome the New Year, said the organisers.