An ensemble of over 1,250 schoolchildren performing various art forms will be the highlight of a colourful pageantry to be taken out from Vellayambalam to East Fort on Saturday evening to mark the conclusion of Kerala Tourism's State-level Onam celebrations.
The procession from Vellayambalam at 5 p.m. will be a prelude to the pageantry, to be flagged off by Minister for Home and Tourism Kodiyeri Balakrishnan at 5.30 p.m. The students will assemble at the Manaveeyam Veedhi and proceed in a procession via Althara junction to Vellayambalam and East Fort. They will display 16 art forms, perform aerobics and stage a basketball match.
As many as 80 floats and 62 cultural programmes will form part of the pageantry this year. All art forms of the State will be represented. Sound track of percussion instruments will be given to lend a festive atmosphere, said film director T.K. Rajeev Kumar, who has prepared the blueprint for the 2010 edition of the pageantry.
Each of the 80 floats will be accompanied by a cultural programme this year instead of staging all cultural programmes in the beginning. Sketches of the floats were obtained in advance this year to ensure quality. Each float will be accompanied by a police officer and a government official. A monitoring station will be set up at Vellayambalam to check the movement of floats and ensure that they move uniformly.
Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, chairman of the pageantry committee Anavoor Nagappan, vice-chairman of the general committee V. Sivankutty, MLA, and convener of the pageantry committee T.O. Sooraj said 35 public sector undertakings, 16 government departments, 7 cooperative institutions, six local self-government institutions, eight private firms, two banking institutions and six Central government organisations will present floats.
A panchavadyam ensemble by a 85-member contingent, roller skaters, mounted police, cultural programmes by the Central Reserve Police Force personnel, and police band will form part of the pageantry along with ‘Padayani,' ‘Neelakavadi,' ‘Kolkali,' ‘Thappattom,' ‘Kummatti' and other art forms.
Prizes will be given in various categories for the best floats and cultural programmes. A VVIP pavilion will be set up in front of the University College and a VIP pavilion in front of the Public Library. Over 10 lakh people are expected to turn up to watch the pageantry. Traffic restrictions will be enforced in the capital city from 2 p.m.
