The wait is over now for Mumbaikars as popular Kala Ghoda Festival is back with its next edition for the year 2018. The festival was organised for the first time in 1999 and thereafter, the event has gained spectacular responds from all over the sphere. Following its annual tradition, this year also the Kala Ghoda Festival will set off its journey on the first Saturday of February.
Things that set apart this Kala Ghoda Art Festival from other usual carnivals in the city are a cultural blend of stage performances, music, drama, dance, workshops, luscious cuisines, heritage bus trip, cinema programmes, street plays, opera of puppets and several other mind blowing activities to behold. Like previous year, this year also the popular art festival will be continued in Mumbai for 9 days from February 3 to 11. The festival is open for public from 10AM to 10PM, and no entry fees are required to visit the festival.
Plenty of spectators flock here from different parts of the country to experience the stage performances of world fame artists. The expected performance counts for this year’s Kala Ghoda Art Festival will contain 48 performances, more than 550 dancers, 11 dance performances and some electrifying live music shows featuring the eminent performers like Paris Laxmi, Vani Ganpati, Sandeep Soparrkar, Sharmishta Mukherji and Pernia Qureshi.
Some of the prime attractions of the festival are listed as follows:
| Date | Time | Shows |
| Saturday,
February 3 |
6PM to 7PM | Designs for Housing by Charles Correa,A curatorial presentation by Dirk van Gameren (TU Delft) |
| 7PM to 8:30PM | Art and architecture in changing timesSession by Barbara Beckett, Mr. Philippe von Niederhausern and Vikas Dilawari | |
| February 6, 2018 | 11.30AM to 1.30PM | Weave my Colours by Malavika Andrews focuses on making jewellery from up cycled products. |
| Wednesday,February 7 | 6:30PM to 7:30PM | Domesticity and the Filmic House: The Case of Bollywood, Session by Smita Dalvi |
| 7:30PM to 8:30PM | Design, Terracotta, and Domesticity, a session by Annapurna Garimella | |
| February 8, 2018 | 4PM to 5PM | A sneak peek at cocktail masterclass |
| February 9, 2018 | 4.30PM to 6PM | Experimental sound workshop, drumming, music, singing bowls and guitar strumming. |
| February 10, 2018 | 8.45PM to 9.45PM | Coupling and Decoupling session for the lovelorn |
| February 11, 2018 | 7.30PM to 9.20PM | An off-beat play about a scientist on strike, presented by Ansh. |
The festival is organised every year in the Kala Ghoda area of South Mumbai. However, considering the massive footfalls of visitors, the event can also be witnessed across various venues in the city. Besides witnessing an overwhelming blend of art and food, visitors are going to experience something off beat this year as the festival is all set to turn green with its ‘Hara Ghoda’ theme.
Getting there:
Visitors outside Mumbai can reach the event by train or flight. For railway commuters, the two key railway heads in Mumbai are Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and Bombay Central Station. From railway station, one can easily hire a taxi or cab to commute further. On the other hand, for air travellers the nearby airport is Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport connecting Mumbai to various international and domestic destinations. From airport, visitors can hire taxi, cab or auto to travel till the venue. However, for local inhabitants the feasible ways to visit Kala Ghoda Art Festival is by local train, bus, taxi and auto-rickshaw.
So this weekend pay a visit to Kala Ghoda Arts Festival and bring home some vibrant flavours from the fest.
Image courtesy: Google
