Orissa Festival 2009 June 26, 2009

To celebrate Rath Yatra, the chariot festival of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra, Shri Jagannath Seva Samiti, Dock East Yard Compound, Kidderpore, Calcutta and its cultural wing Utkala, are hosting the week-long cultural extravaganza, Orissa Festival 2009. To be inaugurated by the Governor of Orissa, Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare, it will commence with the presentation of the Utkala Samman award to eminent painter and art critic, Dr Dinanath Pathy. The inaugural day's programme also features a Odissi dance recital by Sanchita Bhattacharya and her troupe. The festival will showcase some of the finest facets of Orissa's rich artistic and cultural heritage, from rare folk and tribal dance forms and music, classical Odissi dance and music to a colourful, fascinating array of exotic art and handicraft items. Besides, prasad, similar to the mahaprasad of Puri's Jagannath Temple, will be distributed everyday. More than 100 participants from different cultural troupes and self-help groups of Orissa and West Bengal are participating in this festival. A classical dance competition, painting competition and a competition on the cuisine of Orissa are also being organised to add a competitive flavour to the event. (Sunday, 10 am onwards).

Official Website: http://www.buzzintown.com/?115837&ref=yupg&refcity=2