While the four-day long wine festival will open on Thursday, Carnival is set to begin from Saturday beginning with Panjim to conclude at Mapusa and Shiroda.
For the first time ever, Goa will witness a new Carnival look with participation from UK and South Africa besides Goan floats and performances.
The tourism department has received several entries from tableaux participants and the process for selecting 20 quality floats for financial grants is on. The main float parade will be held in Panjim on February 6, followed by float parades in the other cities of Margao on February 7; Vasco, Ponda and Curchorem on February 8, and Mapusa and Shiroda on February 9. The prize money for the float parade contest is Rs 6 lakh per centre. The department has also rubbished rumours of dress code even as it expects large participation of floats and increase in footfall of tourists.
The newly launched helicopter joy rides on the eve of Carnival and the on-going wine festival Grape Escapade will also be a big booster, Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar said.
“Goa Tourism is working on this project in association with Brouhaha International, an arts organization based in Liverpool. The project entitled ‘Destination Carnival’ is aimed at exchange of ideas and talents across three countries namely UK, South Africa and Goa, India,” he further said. Interestingly, the foreign troops are training Goan performers for the four-day long festivity.
“Being one-of-a-kind event, we have people from all over the globe coming in. While the spirit of this celebration is contagious, we have taken into account safety, security and cleanliness which will ensure that the celebration is a truly memorable one,” GTDC Chairman Nilesh Cabral said. The government has ensured water tight security across the venues, especially in the wake of ISIS threat to Goa.
On the other hand, the 12th edition of wine festival – Grape Escapade 2016 will begin at D B Bandodkar Ground, Campal from February 4-6.
