Pokhara, December 4

The 21st edition of Pokhara street festival is all set to start from December 28 in Pokhara’s Lakeside this year.

The five-day fest is organised by Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN) Pokhara every year on the occasion of New Year as per the English calendar.

“Like previous years, this year too, the festival will be celebrated with a lot of fanfare from December 28 to January 1,” said REBAN Pokhara vice-chair and festival coordinator Laxman Baral. Explaining the rationale behind the street festival, he said, “The purpose of the festival is to promote Pokhara as a popular venue for Christmas and New Year celebrations.”

He was speaking at a press conference organised today to brief about preparations for the festival, which will include food, music and culture as its major themes.

As per the organiser, cultures of all seven provinces and places in the vicinity of Pokhara will be the main attractions of the festival.

Similarly, tourism-related documentaries will be put on display. Likewise, sporting events and live concerts of famous artistes of Nepal will also be showcased in the festival.

“We’re all set to enthral the entire 3 km area on the Lakeside during the festival which is being celebrated, as usual, with the slogan of ‘Eat in the Street, Have Fun in the Street and Dance in the Street’,” said REBAN adviser Surya Bahadur Bhujel.

Meanwhile, REBAN is hopeful that the street festival will help the government meet its target of welcoming two million tourists during the upcoming Visit Nepal Year 2020.

It is also learnt that Gandaki Province is preparing to launch its Visit Year 2020 during the street festival.

As per the estimate of the organiser, it will take around 8.5 million rupees from ticket sale and sponsorship. The expenditure, by the same token, is expected to stand somewhere at 7 million rupees.

At today’s conference, Pokhara Tourism Council Chair Chiranjivi Pokharel called all and sundry to put in their positive efforts to make the festival a grand success.