IMPHAL: In a move to promote the unique beauty of pink and white cherry blossoms and showcasing Meghalaya’s traditional arts and culture, events are in place to celebrate India’s first ‘autumn cherry blossom festival’ at Shillong in Meghalaya.
The event is to be conducted from November 14 and will culminate on the 17th. The festival will be at the Polo Ground in Shillong, reports Eastern Mirror Nagaland.
The four-day festival will be organised by the government of Meghalaya, in association with Manipur-based Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD), a national institute of the department of Biotechnology.
“This festival will not only bring socio-economic development of the region but will also promote Peace, Prosperity and Sustainable Development, which is one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” said director Prof. Dinabandhu Sahoo of the IBSD.
“It would also set the stage for 2017, which has been declared as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations.”
The chief minister of Meghalaya Dr Mukul M Sangma will formally inaugurate the event, touted as the country’s first ever cherry blossom festival.
Showing the unique culture of Meghalaya, ‘blending with cherry blossoms,’ beside the community’s traditional cuisine, would be the salient feature of the upcoming festival.
The beautiful country of Japan where cherry blossom festivals, popularly known as Sakura festivals and it is celebrated in April year, a few other countries such as the USA, Korea, China and Australia, also organise similar festivals. The festivals often create positive impacts on their local economies.
