Details of the 6th edition of the Qala International Folk Festival, which is held over four days, were announced today during a press conference addressed by the Minister for Gozo, Giovanna Debono, the Parliamentary Secretary for Consumers, Fair Competition, Local Councils and Public Dialogue, Chris Said and the Mayor of Qala, Mr Paul Buttigieg.

The Festival is organised by a committee from Qala Local Council, with the participation of the Menhir Qala Folk Group and will take place between Thursday, the 15th and Sunday the 18th of September inclusive.

The event will be supported financially through the NGOs scheme launched by the Ministry for Gozo associated with the plan of action 2010-2012 on eco Gozo, the amount contributed is over €5,000; as well as through the Parliamentary Secretariat for Consumers, Fair Competition, Local Councils and Public Dialogue through the Initiatives and Activities Scheme amounting to € 7,500. As in past years, support will also be provided through the Office of Culture within the Ministry for Gozo.

Three folk groups will participate in the festival from Sicily, Belarus and Ireland. It will the their first time at this event. The International Conference on Maltese Folklore will take place on Saturday, the 17th of September, this will be the third time it’s been held.

A new attraction for this festival will be the a group of Gozitan children who are from Qala and will be playing traditional Gozitan games. These children were, during the summer, busy learning traditional dance and games for the festival. As in previous years there will be a re-enactment of a traditional Maltese Wedding ‘It-Tieg flfl -Antik.’

The programme for this year will include folk dance groups from both Malta and Gozo, as well as an exhibition of traditional crafts that are still alive in the locality of Qala today, including those relating to the weaving of reeds and leaves.

The Minister for Gozo said that tradiitional folklore is an aspect that ties in with the objectives of the eco-Gozo vision, that seeks to preserve and promote cultural and historical heritage that forms the distinct identity of the island of Gozo. The Minister went on to say “that is why the application made by the Menhir Qala Folk Group had been succesful in the eco-Gozo NGOs scheme.” She added that “the locality of Qala will also receive almost € 70,000 under the scheme to enable the completion of a project for a folklore museum.”

Parliamentary Secretary, Chris Said, praised the commitment of the Qala Local Council on its work every year in achieving greater standards of excellence at each festival, as well as organising the now, annual, International Folklore Conference, saying that these initiatives keep the local traditions and folklore alive, while maximising their potential as a tourist attraction. This shows the potential of the island’s history, identity and traditions as tourist attractions, thereby generating an influx of both local and foreign visitors. Thus all parts of the islands begin to enjoy the tourism industry.

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