IMPHAL, Jan 6 (NNN): Union Minister of Water Resources Vincent H. Pala will grace the North East Youth Festival at Senapati while New Delhi based `Rock and Roll` band Parikrama will enthrall the crowd in its second day.
The North East Youth Festival organised by the Youth Initiative Foundation (YIF) will kick start from January 17 evening and conclude on January 19 evening.
Liangmai popular folk singer Thiusongbou Pamei, Naga cultural ambassador Guru Rewben Mashangva, Imphal popular band Cleave and Churachandpur based band Friends are all set to display their best on the first day evening and the second day afternoon.
On the second day evening, the all India famed Parikrama and Soulmate of Shillong will make the crowd spin and sway with their popular items.
Parikrama will be performing at Kennedy Center in Wangshington DC in the month of March while Soulmate will perform at the White House, also in Washington after the Senapati event. It is worth noting that Soulmate of Shillong is a famous band that had already toured Europe and the United States of America. Parikrama had performed with the internationally fame band Iron Maiden.
Meanwhile, Secretary of North Eastern Council (NEC) Mr. U.K Sangma will be the function president while CEO of Jubilant Energy Mr. Ajoy Khandelwal, GOC of 57th Mountain Division Major General D.S Hooda and Manipur chief secretary DS Poonia will be the guests of honour of the occasion.
Mentionably, there will be a beauty pageant, “Queen of the Mystic East” which carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh 20 thousand while the winner of the cultural dance will be given Rs 1 lakh. The organiser said that every cultural team participating in the North East Youth Festival will be given consolation prize of Rs 10,000 (ten thousand each) but the teams need to be through in the screening.
Meanwhile, Guru Rewben Mashangva has composed the theme song of the North East Festival entitled “Brothers of the East.”
Another attractive features of the programme have been the pork-eating competition, the rice-beer (local brew) drinking competition and the giant-chilli eating competition. According to organiser Dominic Chawang, each winner of the three competitions will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 10,000 (ten thousand).
“North East Youth Festival is to promote the rich cultural heritage of the North East communities,” said Dominic, convenor of the mega event.
The festival seeks to tame the frustration amongst the youths of the region. A concept paper on the festival said “in the midst of al kinds of turmoil and insecurities, the event is an endeavor to highlight ‘a ray of hope.`
