RT Mission to host mega art and craft fair at Beypore Water Fest
Tourism Minister to inaugurate expo at Nallur on Dec 27
Calicut / December 24, 2023
Kozhikode, Dec 24: Showcasing the country’s richly diverse handicraft traditions in tune with the state’s promotion of sustainable and inclusive tourism, the Kerala government is organising a grand event as part of the third edition of Beypore International Water Festival (BIWF) that begins here tomorrow.
The Responsible Tourism and Textile Art Festival will be held from December 26 to 30, taking visitors through a wide array of art and craft traditions that flourished in 17 states across India. Tourism Minister Shri P.A. Mohamed Riyas will inaugurate the festival at E.K. Nayanar Mini Stadium at Nallur in Feroke on December 27 at 4.30 pm, adding value to the festival packed with exciting water sport competitions that have contestants from around the world.
Shri N C Abdul Razak, Municipal Chairman, Feroke, will preside over the function where District Collector Shri Snehil Kumar Singh will be the chief guest.
The craft festival, which is being organised by Kerala’s Responsible Tourism Mission (RT Mission), will feature traditions such as pottery, weaving and dress-making that are zealously preserved by artisans and crafts communities over centuries.
Apart from exhibiting Kerala’s globally renowned handloom industry known for its quality of texture and craftsmanship, the festival will bring together artisans with their products from various states for live demonstrations, according to the Minister.
“The craft festival has been conceived as an added feature to the Beypore international water festival when the ancient port town of Malabar is all set to emerge as a global tourism hub,” Shri Riyas noted. “Leveraging the fabulous handloom, handicraft, agricultural and cuisine traditions of different states of the country is important for responsible and sustainable tourism promotion.”
Apart from displaying a wide variety of textile traditions, the festival will have live demonstrations of the art and craft, RT Mission State Coordinator Shri K. Rupeshkumar said. These include pictorial embossment, dyeing, textile printing, making of decorative clothes like tapestries anddisplay of different types of handlooms and spinning equipmentused by craftspeople from various states and sub-regions.
The expo will also have a wide range of items on sale: tourist souvenirs and agricultural as well as food products from various units of the State RT Mission — at affordable prices. Planned as an upfront initiative, the event will have conversations and workshops on preserving the craft traditions and leveraging them for promotion of tourism which will benefit the local communities, Shri Rupeshkumar said.
A section on Kerala’s agricultural products at the expo, planned in association with Agrifarm Tourism Network units, will showcase an assortment of organic food products and spices, besides promoting the Village Experience packages from different districts. The entire spectrum of travel and tourism stakeholders including HATS, women RT clubs and adventure tourism agencies have extended their support to the event.
The festival will have participation of Tamil Nadu, Assam, Karnataka, Gujarat, Telangana, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Puducherry, Odisha, Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
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