The International Summer Festival will be held from June 8 to June 12 at The Ridge and The Mall in Shimla. The event will feature exciting cultural, sports and entertainment activities along with a helicopter joyride. This was stated by Anupam Kashyap, Deputy Commissioner (DC), Shimla, during a press conference.
Kashyap said that after heli-taxi services were started earlier this year from Chalaunthi helipad in Shimla to Reckong Peo, Chandigarh and Kullu, the district administration decided to come up with a novel activity named as ‘Ride of Seven Hills’, a helicopter joy ride, for which talks have been held with the company providing the heli-taxi services. “Under this joy ride, tourists and locals will be offered a helicopter ride, covering all the seven hills of Shimla, giving them an aerial view of the state’s capital. If successful, this joyride will be continued throughout the year,” he said.
Highlighting the main attractions for the festival, he said the festival would feature a variety of cultural and entertainment activities to ensure that people get a great experience. “Throughout the five-day festival, cultural and entertainment activities such as mahanati, Chham dance, a performance by Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, Dharamsala, art festival, Choliya dance, Ghoomar dance, Bhawai, Gojri dance, Shimla Grishmotsav-Rang Manch Utsav, dog show, healthy baby show, a traditional Pahadi fashion show, women food festival and a flower show will be held,” said Kashyap.
“Along with this, an inter-school declamation competition named ‘Shyamala Manthan’ will also be organised at the festival both in Hindi and English languages. To promote fitness and sports amongst the youth as well as to raise awareness against drug abuse, an anti-chitta -inter-District volleyball competition will also be organised during the festival. Teams from all the 12 districts will be participating in the competition. Furthermore, a ‘Voice of Mountain Competition’ will also be held for which auditions will be held online. Winners of these competitions will be awarded with exciting cash prizes, he said.
The DC further said that the festival would also feature star nights, in which renowned singers and performers will entertain people.
