Bhubaneswar: An unique event, .FEST, the mega food and cultural extravaganza organized in Capital City Bhubaneswar, has witnessed a footfall of over four lakh during last 10 days.
The .FEST has emerged as one of the biggest cultural festival in the city during the Hockey World Cup, which is going on at two host cities of Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.
According to organizing officials, on a daily basis, the live concert at the .FEST witnessed footfall of over 15,000 to 20,000, while about 20,000 people visited the International Food Festival every day.
During the 10 days long Bhubaneswar Live in .FEST, the citizens especially youths enjoyed to the tune of Bollywood singer Sukhwinder Singh, Guru Randhawa, Harshdeep Kaur, Neeti Mohan, Indian Idol fame Pawandeep Rajan & Arunita Kanjilal, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Sunil Grover, Shilpa Rao, Sashank Sekhar and many more.
Chak De Odisha with Odia sensations Rituraj Mohanty, Lisa Mishra, Sniti Mishra and others was enjoyed by all.
Besides, K-pop band Blackswan, actress Disha Patani, choreographers Shiamak Davar & Salman Yousuf, Pandit Haraprasad Chaurasia and Ustad Taufiq Qureshi enthralled the audience with their magical performances.
“Although, all the 10 days have been super hit and it is difficult to articulate just one day to be the biggest hit, however, we would say that day 7 saw immense populace pouring in as the stage was set to fire by Amit Trivedi and Odia heartthrob Swayam Padhi with over 50,000 footfall at Live in concert, the International Food Festival, the Flea Market and the Photo exhibition,” said an official.
The Night Bazaar/Flea Market gave local artists, start-ups, performers, craftsmen, and innovators an excellent stage to display their products. The Flea Market has been making a daily business of approximately Rs 6-8 Lakh.
The night market has been put up with the intention to display the handicrafts and textiles of Odisha. With more than 120 locally made goods on display, it is proving to be a wonderful crowd-puller and a shopping experience for visitors.
Simple Crazies, Urbanomad, Punjab Jutti Store, Tanveer from Himachal, Traditional Aura-Varanasi, and Red Ochre are some of the stalls that witnessed an overwhelming response from visitors.
Visitors are also witnessing the regional dance forms of Odisha like Dhuduki, Dhap, and Jodisankha as performers take over the three stages at Night Flea Market.
On the other hand, the International Food Festival has been making a daily business of approximately Rs 12-14 Lakh.
The International Food Festival with cuisines from 16 countries and 24 States is under way at IDCO Exhibition Ground since January 15. It is being organized to offer the delicious dishes of Odisha to the foreign guests as well as cuisines from different countries to the people of the State.
Other activities conducted like Bhufest, Ekamra Walks have also received a very good response till date. Around 50+ trails with over 1000+ people have been conducted so far, the official informed.
BhuFeSto also saw brilliant response from people as famous storytellers like Nandita Das and Antonio Rocha have graced the stage among many other brilliant artists. All in all, the response has been great, he added.
Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) Vice Chairman Balwant Singh and his team of dedicated officials worked with all seriousness to make this event a hassle free and memorable one.
Ace Mandarin Shri Singh said, “From the beginning of the festival we have been promoting inclusiveness and equitable representation from all walks of life in celebration of the fest and the hockey World Cup.”
In fact due to professional approach by Team BDA, .FEST scripted success story and unique inclusiveness, said a former Secretary of Government of India.