After the success of the inaugural edition of Bhubaneswar City Festival ‘.FEST’ held last year, it is now all set for a makeover as ‘Ekamra Utsav’.
A meeting of the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) was held under the chairmanship of Tourism Secretary Vishal Dev recently, in which it was decided to change the festival’s name as Ekamra Utsav.
The second edition of the festival, to be organised by the BDA and the Odisha Tourism, would be held from December 23 to January 1.
The event would feature food fiesta, storytelling and trails and live performances by celebrities of different spheres.
This year, Bollywood singers Neha Kakkar, Shaan, Mohit Chauhan, Ankit Tiwari, choreographer Remo D’Souza and comedian Zakir Khan are likely to perform at the extravaganza. Besides, art workshops and handicraft display would also be parts of the event.
Last year, more than 16 countries and several States of India had participated in the street food festival while celebrities like Vishal and Shekhar, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Shreya Ghoshal, Farhan Akhtar, Shaan, Sona Mohapatra and Rituraj Mohanty enthralled the audience with their scintillating performances. In view of the overwhelming response to the first edition of festival last year, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced that the Smart City would host the event every year.