Shillong, Dec 13: After a gap of 4 long years, the A•we Festival 2024 (also called winter festival) got underway in Resubelpara on Friday, showcasing to the world the diverse and unique traditions of North Garo Hills district.

The two-day festival is being held at the Mini Stadium Resubelpara with various activities lined up for the concluding day on Saturday.

It may be mentioned that the festival is being held in other districts of the state by different names with different cultural meanings. In North Garo Hills district, A•we festival symbolises one of the sub tribes of the Garo Community known for their hospitable nature and love for food, music and dance.

The festival features flowers and vegetables show, indigenous games, cooking competition, singing competition, dance competition, beauty contest, baby show and rock concert by various local artists.

Lauding the event organizers for the vibrancy of the festival, Deputy Speaker & Resubelpara MLA Timothy D Shira promised a grander A•we festival in the upcoming year by donating funds and collaborating with all the MLAs of the district.

Meanwhile, MLA Marthon J Sangma apprised the gathering that the Winter Festival at the district level or the A•we festival is not just an event but a platform for the people to showcase their rich cultural heritage and to promote and sell local products, thereby improving their socio-economic condition. He also added the festival emphasizes on promoting tourism by allowing exchange of ideas through cross cultural participation.

Earlier, Deputy Commissioner of North Garo Hills, AK Singh, in his welcome address, briefed the gathering of the objectives of the festival and added the journey of the two-day A•we Festival will unveil the incredible diversity and tradition of the people of North Garo Hills.

He added that the festival enabled the people to connect with their roots, culture, tradition by allowing them to experience the traditional delicacies, music, crafts and indigenous sports that reflects the essence of the people.

Post inauguration the chief guest, Timothy D Shira, launched the exhibition stalls represented by Medical, agri-horti departments, fisheries, handloom, DCIC and various other line departments.

During the occasion, the chief guest also launched the Health ATM which conducts instant body vitals screening.

The festival, which was held up for the last 4 years due to various reasons, was able to resume this year to allow the citizens of the district to have a platform to display their talents, creativity, promoting local businesses and thereby fostering economic growth.

Read: National Junior Athletics Championship: Bronze medalists Rikangku Sangma felicitated

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