Fifth edition of North East Festival to start on November 3

Enjoy food, fashion, handicrafts, music, dance, tourism and creative performances of the North East at the 5th edition of the North East Festival (NEF), which starts here on November 3.

The three-day festival will be held at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Janpath, read a statement.

"Various northeastern states, developmental councils will present investment and tourism potential of the region. Plenty of tour operators and foreign tourists are expected to attend the festival.

"Delhi Police is helping to invite the RWAs based in Delhi in an attempt to create awareness about the region. Another attraction will be quiz competition from Delhi Police amongst non North Eastern people," said Shyamkanu Mahanta, the fest's Chief Organiser.

The festival will platform 30 dance forms like the Naga warrior dance, Thang ta of Manipur, Hojagiri of Tripura, Bamboo dance of Mizoram, Wangala dance of Meghalaya, Lion dance of Arunachal Pradesh among others.

Artiste Ram Vijay Bhaona will also showcase a mask presentation of Natum Kamalabari Sattra of Majuli, Assam and the rhythms of Manipur.

Bringing together 150 weavers and artisans to show their magic, the fest has been supported by the North Eastern Handicrafts and Handloom Development Corporation.

The extravaganza will also have a buyers-sellers meet and design weekend, showcasing the top designs of the northeast presented by northeastern models and celebrity showstoppers.

Organic North East, an organic hub, will present various products of the region including food processing. Around 30 stalls will present the cuisine of the northeast.

The creative souls can bask in the exhibition of northeastern films, an exhibition of art and photography, graphiti and doodle art.

There will also be storytelling sessions on famous folk tales of the northeast and tattoo artistes from the region.

One of the major attractions of the festival this year will be the NEF Rock Battle, which will see the top rock bands of Delhi's biggest colleges fight it out in a competition.

The NEF Football Cup will be organised starting Friday until November 2.

The evening will have performances by artistes including Papon, Zubeen Garg, Alobo Naga, rapper Borkung Hrangkhawl, heavy metal bands Pulse Pandits, Girish & Chronicles (GATC), Traffic Jam, Avora Records, Lucid Reccess, Jelly Kayi, international DJ Teri Miko among others.

--IANS

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