Culture festival from Oct 14 to 23

The first edition of the Culture Festival for adults and children organised by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage will be held from October 14 to 23. This was announced by Sayyid Said bin Sultan al Busaidi (pictured), Director-General of Arts, and the director of the festival, at a press conference on Sunday. The festival is being held to celebrate the memory of the Omani Artist Ayub Maling who made lasting contribution to the culture and art in the Sultanate. The Oman Cinema and Theatre Association will present the Intervals Contest from October 21 to 23. The Omani Association for Fine Arts will conduct the small artworks contest that includes 228 artworks from October 14 to 20 while the photography competition is from October 17 to 19. The festival encourages youths to present theatre shows highlighting social issues. The participating groups are Al Dan for Culture and Arts, Mazoon Theatre, Salalah Theatre and Stage Amateurs. Omani folklore bands will also entertain the audience at festival locations. Farq Folklore Band will play in Al Mouj Muscat, Sur, Musandam and Suhar. Al Muna Band will perform in Oman Avenues Mall on October 17. Music Kingdom Musical Band will perform in Muscat Grand Mall on October 18. Lujina Band will play at Muscat Grand Mall on October 20. One entertainment workshops for child cancer patients will be held at the Royal Hospital on October 17 and another one for special kids at the Association for the Welfare of the Handicapped Children. Explaining the logo of the festival, the organisers said that the colours were inspired to reflect the different cultures. The green colour symbolises peace and happiness, brown means the steadiness and history. This intermixing of colours reflects the identity of the Sultanate’s different civilisations, cultures during the past and current eras.