In a conference today, with Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said and the Mayor of Qala Paul Buttigieg, it was announced that for the second consecutive year the Qala International Folk Festival will include an International Folklore Conference, which will be held on the third day of the Festival. The theme of the conference will be Traditional Trades of ‘Malta & Gozo.’ The main conference speakers will be Anton F. Attard and Gwido Lanfranco, who are both experts on the subject.
Chris Said went on to praise Qala Local Council’s initiative to keep the local traditions and folklore alive, but also maximising their potential as a tourist attraction. This shows th potential of the island’s history, identity and traditions as tourist attractions. Every locality enjoys this potential and should work together to take full advantage of it.
The fifth edition of this annual festival will take place between Thursday, the 16th and Sunday, the 19th of September. This festival is marked by the participation of international folk groups, as well as exhibitions from other areas of the islands.This year folk groups will take part from Russia and Italy as well as three local groups including the Menhir Qala Folk Group.
The festival begins on Thursday evening with a defilé by all participants, departing from near the offices of the Local Council to St Joseph Square.
Friday is dedicated to Malta, with Marsaskala and St Julians.
On Saturday morning, for the second year running, the International Conference on Maltese Folklore, will take place at the Citadel. In the evening there will be entertainment in St Joseph’s Square, Qala.
Sunday morning will see a re-enactment of a Maltese Wedding ‘It-Tieg flfl -Antik’, starting at Imgarr Road and moving in a procession towards St Joseph Square and will be concluded with a small ‘festin’ serving traditional wedding delicacies. This display is animated by folk music from a Gozitan Folklore group. In the evening souviners and certificates will be awarded to the participants of the festival.
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