All arrangements for the 61st Kerala State School Arts Festival will be in place by December 31, and the city will welcome participants from January 2.
Education Minister V. Sivankutty said here on Wednesday that over 14,000 students were expected to take part in the festival that includes Sanskritolsavam and Arabic Sahithyolsavam. The festival will be organised in compliance with the green protocol, the Minister said, adding that masks and sanitisers were advised as there was a global surge in COVID-19 cases.
The festival will be held on 24 stages across the city, Capt. Vikram Maidan at West Hill being the main venue. Zamorin’s School and its ground at Thali, Providence School at Nadakkavu, Gujarati Hall, St. Joseph’s Boys School, St. Antony’s UP School and St. Joseph’s Anglo Indian Girls’ School on the beach, M.M. High School at Parappil, Government Ganapath Boys School and Achuthan Girls School at Chalappuram, St. Vincent Colony School at Asokapuram, S.K. Pottekkatt Hall at Puthiyara, Government Higher Secondary schools at Karaparamba and Nadakkavu, St. Michaels’ School at West Hill, Markaz School at Eranhipalam, Town Hall, and physical education ground at East Hill are the other venues.
Mananchira Square in Kozhikode has been thoroughly illuminated to welcome the New Year and on account of the forthcoming State school arts festival. | Photo Credit: K. Ragesh
The stages have all been named after places with literary significance. All the events will be recorded for documentation in case of appeals, and the results will be available on digital screens at all venues. Help desks will be set up at the railway station and bus stands. The participants will be transported to their respective accommodations and stages in vehicles named ‘Kalolsava Vandi’. There will be 30 such vehicles.
Accomodation for participants from other districts will be arranged at 20 schools in the city, 10 for boys and 10 for girls, with five in the reserve. Students who opt for online registration can also apply for accommodation.
Food will be served at the Malabar Christian College school ground, under the aegis of veteran chef Pazhayidam Mohanan Namboothiri. The food pavilion will serve 17,000 people a day and accommodate 2,000 people at a time. Around 1,200 teachers will be on duty in three shifts.
For the first time, the 117.5-sovereign gold cup presented to the winning district will be kept on display at BEM school for public viewing. The cup, now in the possession of Palakkad district, will be taken over by the Deputy Director of Education, Kozhikode, at Ramanattukara on December 31 and will be brought to BEM school in a procession.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the festival at 10 a.m. on January 3, and the events will begin at 11 a.m. on the same day at all venues. However, the events will begin at 9 a.m. on the remaining days. All major media houses will have pavilions at the main venue. An exhibition featuring over 40 stalls by government departments will be on at the Zamorin School ground throughout the festival, besides ‘Disha’, a career guidance expo for higher secondary students.
