KATHMANDU: The 17th Pokhara Street Festival will begin next week with the theme ‘Let us eat, dance and have fun on the street’.

The Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN) is organising the annual festive event from December 28 to January 1 to promote Pokhara’s internal and external tourism. The street festival will be held across the renowned Lakeside area, from Sahid Chowk to Khahare-Dihikopatan area covering about three and a half kilometres of streets.

Apart from prime attractions, the entertainment programme will be held at Basundhara Park. On the occasion, special discounts will be offered in the menus of the hotels and restaurants. The festival will showcase processions by different organisations; competitions, local ethnic communities’ cultural exhibitions, Chitwan’s Tharu cultural dance troupes, peculiar performances of Mustang Lomanthang cultural group, Purwanchal Kirant group, Lamjung Ghalegaun group and international cultural groups from China and South Korea, the organisers informed to Rastriya Samachar Samiti.

In a statement, REBAN said that the festival would screen documentaries, hold sporting events, photo exhibition and adventurous activities.

At a press conference, REBAN Chairman Pramod Kumar Jaiswal said that the street festival in Pokhara would also promote tourism throughout the country.