Bhubaneswar: The Odisha capital is witnessing a plethora of events on the sidelines of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup and denizens are spoilt for choice. The 2nd edition of .FEST has begun and so also concurrent programmes, amplifying the festive mood of citizens and tourists amid the hockey carnival.
So, where are you going tonite?
.Fest
The road between Housing Board Square and Ram Mandir has come alive with Bhubaneswar hosting the second edition of the festival at Idco Exhibition Ground.
.FEST was crafted wherein F stands for FOOD – one common factor that connects all walks of society.
E stands for entertainment – in the era of OTT, the excitement of live performances & the adrenaline rush to witness some of the maestros at own city is not an everyday phenomenon in tier-2 cities like Bhubaneswar.
S stands for stories – Bhubaneswar Festival of Storytelling (BhuFesSto) was specifically curated for the children along with the elderly to keep alive the great saga of storytelling.
Lastly, T stands for trails – under the brand name Ekamra walks – where the festival becomes truly a city festive, showcasing the magnificent assets Bhubaneswar has been preserving for centuries.
The event, which began on January 15, will be held from 7 pm to 10 pm every day till January 24. The first day saw performances by singer Guru Randhawa, actress Disha Patani and K-pop band Blackswan featuring Odisha’s Shreya Lenka.
DAY-WISE SCHEDULE
Jan 16: Harshdeep Kaur, Navraj Hans, Priya Malik.
Jan 17: Neeti Mohan, Divya Kumar.
Jan 18: Lisa Mishra, Sniti Mishra, Rituraj Mohanty, Rapper Big deal.
Jan 19: Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Taufiq Qureshi, Louis Banks, George Brooks, Gwyneth Wentink, Ojas Adhiya.
Jan 20: Sunil Grover, Shilpa Rao.
Jan 21: Amit Trivedi.
Jan 22: Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik.
Jan 23: Siddhart Mahadevan, Shivam Mahadevan, Shrinidhi Ghatate.
Jan 24: Choreographer Salman Yousuf, and singers Sukhwinder Singh, Pawandeep Rajan and Arunita Kanjilal.
The International Food Festival also began at the exhibition ground on Sunday. There are 35 stalls, including six international stalls where people will find culinary delights from 16 different countries and 24 states.
The City Trails of .FEST took off on January 14 with an aim to promote tourism by exposing the participants to the city’s culture which will continue till February 12. In order to book tickets, check www.ekamrawalks.com
It consists of 3 different trail groups –
Food Trails: It will take the visitors on a delicious journey of Odia cuisine which includes Dahibara, Odia thali, prasad from various temples, Pitha, Chenna Jilli and tiffins among others.
Nature Trails: It will enable them to witness nature’s bounty around the city like Ekamravana, jungle safari at Bharatpur, Deras and Medicinal Park.
Museum Trails: It will take the participants on a visit to the Tribal Museum and the State Museum of Bhubaneswar.
The rural fair ‘Sisir Saras 2023’ is being held at Baramunda field in Bhubaneswar and will continue till January 29. People can visit the fair every day from 11 am to 9 pm. A total of 350 stalls have been set up by more than 600 rural producers from across the country this year.
There will be paper and handcrafted stationery from Puducherry, iron handicrafts from Uttar Pradesh, tussar clothes from Chhatisgarh, bamboo handicrafts from Assam and Tripura, woollen clothes from Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Manipur, jute products and handicrafts from West Bengal, Chanderi clothes from Madhya Pradesh, decorative items and shawls from Gujarat, leather products from Punjab, handcrafted products from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal.
Apart from these, handicrafts from Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh are also on display.
Special Attractions:
Mukteshwar Dance Festival
The festival is being organised by the Culture Department in association with Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi and is being held between 6 pm and 8.30 pm.
The state government has opened an entertainment park in Bhubaneswar since January 10. People can visit the entertainment park from 3 pm-10 pm.
Only those who have booked their tickets can visit the entertainment zones in Bhubaneswar on the days when matches will be played. Entry will be free on non-match days.
There will be a food fest, different types of entertainment programs, and immersive light attractions at Olly’s land.
Upcoming non-match days in Bhubaneswar: January 18, January 20, January 21, January 26, and January 28.
It is pertinent to mention here that the two-day Annual Flower Show, 2023 was held at Botanical Garden of Regional Plant Resource Centre (RPRC) in Bhubaneswar on January 14 and 15 where a total of 15 firms and thirty nurseries exhibited the ornamental plants through plant bazaars.
Besides, a live performance by music director-composer duo Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani was held at Xavier Institute of Management (XIM), Bhubaneswar on January 15. It was for the second time that the duo set the ‘Xpressions’ stage on fire with their scintillating performance. They had last performed here in 2015. Meanwhile, the students witnessed the musical night with Olly Esse and DJ Zephyrtoneduring Sunburn Campus on January 14. XIM also hosted a laugh riot with stand-up comedian Karunesh Talwar on January 13.
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