Bhubaneswar: The three-day long 8th State Level Folk Dance and Folk Music Festival was inaugurated at Utkal Mandap in Bhubaneswar on Monday. On this occasion, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated 30 folk art villages in as many as districts. More than 2,000 artistes from different parts of the State participated in the festival. For promoting folk art and spreading awareness Health Secretary, Pramod Kumar Meherda, Ganjam Collector Premchandra Choudhury, Dhenkanal Collector, Nikhil Pavan Kalyan, Cuttack Collector, Susant Mohapatra, Khurda Collector, Nirmal Chandra Mishra and Puri Collector, Arvinda Agarwal were felicitated.
Artists from Ganjam, Sambalpur, Nuapada, Mayurbhanj, Kalahandi, Sundergarh, Dhenkanal, Khurda, Cuttack and Puri performed Jodisankha, Sambalpuri, Ganabaja, Chhau, Bajasal, Karama, Gopala Laudi, Paika Akhada, Dhanakoila and Gotipua respectively.
Among others, Culture Minister Ashok Panda, MP Prasanna Patsani, MLA Priyadarshi Mishra, eminent actor Bijay Mohanty, Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena, Culture Secretary Manoranjan Panigrahi and Culture Director Bijay Nayak graced the occasion.
The festival is being organised by Culture Department since 2011 to explore and promote the dying folk dance and music and also to provide livelihood support to the folk artists.
