GA-CARNIVAL

Hundreds of artists will gather

at the Arambol beach in Goa next month to display their talent

during a carnival parade being hosted annually by locals and

international tourists.

The 'Art of Carnival' will be held in the last week of

February at Arambol beach in North Goa, 40 kms away from here.

Holland-based musician ZouZou, who conceptualised

this unique festival one and half decades back, said the theme

of this year's event would be ocean.

"It's 15 years back when it started. Carnival is an

age-old tradition here. Portuguese were here for 450 years and

therefore carnival became part of their world," he said.

He said that initially the carnival used to happen on

the streets of Arambol, with a walk to the beach. "But from

third year onwards, it was shifted to the beach exclusively,"

ZouZou said.

"Every 300-400 metres there is artists' installations

on the beach. At each of the art installation there is a small

performance. To bring the crowd from one art installation to

the next, there is a big cart, which has a very large and

extraordinary art object. Next to the cart there are drummers.

That gives public a chance to move with the beat," he said.

State tourism department official said that though

the event is not formally recognised on the event calendar, it

helps to generate more footfalls.

"Armbol carnival has become an annual event for

which tourists wait. That helps the tourism sector in the

state to grow," he said.