The annual crafts festival being held at the Sargalaya Art and Craft Village, under the Tourism Department at Iringal near Vadakara here will have an international flavour this time with the State and the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS), which is managing the village, ensuring the participation of craftsmen from different south Asian countries to the event.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the crafts village P.P. Bhaskaran told The Hindu that a memorandum of understanding has been signed between the State authorities as well as the United Nations (UN) with the support of the External Affairs Ministry (MEA) to invite craftsmen from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations to exhibit their works during the festival this time.
The annual crafts festival at the crafts village this year will be held from December 20 to January 5. The 17-day festival will have a diverse variety of handicrafts from different parts of the country. The organisers have made arrangements for 276 stalls at the village. “We have already received 210 registrations from different States,” said Mr. Bhaskaran. According to him the festival this time would be the best in South India with more number of participants. Around 50 of the total craftsmen registered for the festival, are winners of different national awards for their craftsmanship, said the CEO.
The ULCCS president Paleri Ramesan said that the support of the authorities for the craft village was vital since only then a facility, which is extremely remarkable in several respects, would get proper attention from the audience both from inside and outside the country.
“It is great that the State government has also come forward to include the festival in the Grand Kerala Shopping Festival this time,” said the ULCCS president.
The crafts festival, among other things will offer cultural shows by artistes from different parts of the country on all days at the village. The event according to Mr. Ramesan, will be one of the main attractions of the tourist season this time. “We expect it to be a grand show of art and craft of international standards,” said Mr. Ramesan.
