By the time you’d be reading this, you would have either missed or be recovering from a
slew of parties organised at the nightclubs and pubs across the state on the
eve of Easter. But not everything is lost. Right from day parties to brunches
to even ‘drunches’, many more events have been planned to cater to the huge
number of locals who had been observing Lent, and the usual influx of tourists.
For the rare section of the society that is still unsure of what this time of
the year means, Easter Sunday is preceded by Maundy Thursday and Good Friday,
and is one of the most joyous occasions for Christians around the world as it
marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Easter is preceded by a
forty-day period of fasting, prayer and penance, called Lent.
With the likes of offerings such as the Easter egg hunt, lots of
traditional festive food fare by the beach and ‘eggstra’ special Easter goodies
crafted by the passionate chefs at their property in South Goa, Park Hyatt Goa
Resort and Spa kicked off their festive fare on March 24, 2018. The festive
celebrations at the property will conclude with an Easter Brunch happening
today. Alila Diwa Goa, another luxe property in the south has taken their
popular Lazy Sunday Lunch a notch higher and has put on offer an even wider
spread from across the world, including Easter specials and cocktails, for
their Easter Sunday Lazy Lunch. The property also has a dedicated kids section
where kiddies can indulge in fun games, nail art and face painting, while the
grown-ups can pamper themselves at Spa Alila. Kenilworth Resort and Spa too is
all set to treat their patrons with an Easter Brunch. With 11 live stations
along with a buffet spread of international cuisine and 11 cocktails and
mocktails that the bar has skilfully mixed for unlimited feasting, the Easter
Sunday at this property looks to be promising. Special Easter theme games have
been planned for kids to keep them entertained through the afternoon along with
11 exciting activities for all ages including water zorbing, fighter zorb,
shooting, giant outdoor chess and more. Down extreme south in Agonda, the brand
new property of The White resort is having their debut Easter brunch. The
luxury boutique resort features 14 independent cottages, a fine dining
restaurant, a yoga retreat and a spa.
The
word ‘drunch’ has two meanings. The urban dictionary describes it as a lunch
that you get drunk at, but then there is also the fact that drunch is normally
had later than lunch, much like brunch, at the time between lunch and dinner.
The big fat Easter Drunch, organised by Middle Finger at the spanking new
property of Casa Playa in Anjuna, today on April 1, 2018, is a new concept that
the team is experimenting with. Mackenzie Eudes Pereira, partner, Middle
Finger, says, “When you see the venue and the view, you will realise why I left
our comfort zone of doing club gigs and ventured into pulling off something
like a Drunch! I’ve always been very fond of the whole brunch concept. The
sunsets here are beautiful.” The gala affair is going to start off at noon, go
through the sunset and run down till post dinner. Rumour has it that some
really talented artistes have been roped in to perform, including a live band,
DJs, international performers and much more.
Had we been writing this about two years ago, it would have been safe to say
that the time around Easter is possibly the big bang that the tourism season
makes before tapering off. But based on observations and opinions of trade
experts, Goa has moved on from being a seasonal tourist destination to being an
all-year round tourist hot-spot.
Siddharth Savkur, General Manager, Alila Diwa Goa, acknowledges
this and says, “Goa today is blessed by the fact that there is hardly a concept
of an ‘off season’ anymore. Hotels and restaurants see brisk business on almost
every long weekend through the year.”
Along with brunches and drunches, there are Easter-themed
music-focused events happening today, too. The Tito’s restaurant is having
something they’re calling the Tito’s Carnival. The folks at Tito’s Events have
roped in live band Smooth, along with DJs Pritesh and Sajan. Expect King Momo
to steal the attention and make this Carnival a merry affair. The scenic
property of Waters in Vagator kicked off their three-day techno festival called
Easter Bash on March 30, 2018. With April 1 being the finale day, techno DJs
will go all out to make this evening a memorable one. Organised by homeboys
David Phimister and Akshit Shetty, we have been told that the party begins at
10 pm and will go on till 4 am after moving indoors.
Moving
on to live music events, The Project Cafe Goa in association with The Live
Music Project (TLMP) has planned what they’re calling a splendid evening of
song and frolicking combined with a culinary experience that fuses together European
and Goan cuisines and special cocktails. As the evening proceeds, the venue
will have a special serenading session by a contemporary progressive French
band OXYD, whose influences span across jazz, new age contemporary music and
rock.
