The Gharb Local Council, Gozo, are organising the fourth edition of Seher il-Punent Festival of arts, culture, history and music between the 19th and 21st of March.

This festival will once again be held in the core areas of Gharb which areas are bound with folkloristic aspects and traditional elements. Organising Seher il-Punent is for the Gharb Local Council an attraction in bringing once again a large number of visitors to Gozo and promoting the treasures found around the island.

Throughout the festival the Gharb main square and surrounding areas will be illuminated and decorated with feast decorations. Exhibitions will also be set up along Church Street and at the Gharb Parish Centre with various works by local talented artists.

After the success achieved during last year’s edition, the first day of the festival, Friday, the 19th of March will once again be opened by a traditional meal organised by tal-Qiegha Folk Foundation at the Gharb main square surrounded by folkloristic elements and entertainment and also the re-enactment of In Guardia by Malta Tourism Authority. Tal-Qiegha folk Group and Cini Band will play Maltese folk music and songs. Special dishes will be served and pre-booking is necessary to join the meal. During this festival the Gharb Local Council will also be hosting a delegation from Quadrelle Local Council (Italy) and during the evening the twinning ceremony will take place. This twinning event is co-financed by the European Union under the Town Twinning Programme.

The activities on Saturday, the 20th of March, will include performances by local talents varying from young singers to dancing companies on the main stage set up at Gharb Main Square and finalists of the Malta Song Festival. This year for the first time a Tug of War competition will also be held with participants varying from different committees, clubs, councils etc. The evening will also include a talent show named ‘Tilwima Talenti.’ The Council is inviting all those of 18 years and over who would like to perform their talent to contact them on telephone 21560556 in order to perform on stage. Talents may vary from singing, acting, dancing etc. Special guest of the evening will be the group Airport Impressions who will be giving a live concert.

On Sunday, the 21st of March, the activities will starts at 9.15am and will continue uninterrupted all day ending at around 11.00pm. The activities will start with band marches along Church Street by Ghaqda Muzikali Vizitazzjoni. A selection of gastronomical items, typical products and strawberry market will be held in the main square together with folkloristic entertainment from local talents. The Aurora Folk Group will give folkloristic entertainment and the live creation of the largest ‘Gbejna’ ever done in the Maltese islands will be held. Also cheese, fruit and wine tables will be set up for tasting. A motorcycles get together will also be held during the morning matinee. A dancing marathon will kick off at 1.00pm with participants coming from various dancing companies in Gozo and Malta. This activity will be presented by the popular Greenfields group.

The evening programme will be presented by Claudette Pace, J. Anvil, Olivia Lewis and Georgina who will also be giving their performance. The programme will also include the final sessions of the tug of war competition and the ‘Tilwima Talenti’ where the winning participants will be announced and presented with an award. The evening will come to end by with the performance of Thea Garrett, the winner of this year’s Malta Euro Song Contest.

During all days of the festival there will also be:

Kids Area with animators Food and Beverage stalls Art and Crafts Exhibitions Cultural Walking Tours (visiting of various places of interest around the locality. The tour will also include a visit of a vineyard and wine tasting) Re-Enactment of il-Qiegha by Tal-Qiegha Folk Group on Saturday and Sunday morning.

Special accommodation discounts will be given by: Farmhouses and Holiday complex for the Long weekend in Gharb Gozo with a special weekend break price € 12.36 per person per night sharing apartment of 4 – Limited apartments available Special offer service with the Exploring Gozo Bus at the special price of € 8 instead of €15 for adults (15 years and over) and € 5 instead of €9 for children (6-15 years). This price includes one day ticket for a complete site seeing of all Gozo.

The Gharb Local Council would like to thank the Parliamentary Secretariat for Consumers, Fair Competition, Local Councils and Public Dialogue, Ministry for Gozo, Malta Tourism Authority, Public Broadcasting Services Limited and all the sponsors for their help towards this activity.

For more information about the Seher il-Punent Festival and / or bookings for the traditional dinner being held on Friday, the 19th of March, kindly contact the Gharb Local Council on 21560556 / 79492667 or email on gharb.lc@gov.mt

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