On the instructions of Federal Minister for Culture Pir Aftab Hussain Shah Jilani Secretary Culture Moinul Islam Bukhari a cultural festival “Eid Sab Bachon Ki” kicked off here on Sunday at Lok Virsa Complex, Garden Avenue, Shakarparian. The festival will continue till Chand Raat.
The festival features the stalls of NGOs, food, bangles, Mehndi and garment besides several special attractions for children such as jumping castles, swings, merry go round, and puppet, juggling, magic, cultural and musical shows.
According to the organisers, 10,000 gift packs in three different categories for flood affected children will be arranged through donations and proceeds of the festival activities which will be distributed among flood-affected children on the occasion of Eidul Fitr.
On Sunday, a ceremony was held on Lok Virsa premises at Shakarparian wherein a desk was set up to collect donations from public/ visitors for the flood-affected children. A number of people from different walks of life attended the ceremony.
Rotary Club and Islamabad Green City President Abdus Sattar Baloch presented a sample of gift pack from his club to Lok Virsa Executive Director (ED) Khalid Javaid.
He announced that they would provide 1,000 such gifts to Lok Virsa as a token of their participation in this noble cause. Other Rotarians who attended the ceremony included Muhammad Rafiq Qureshi, Dr Nilofer Khan and Khalid Samad. All of them highly appreciated the efforts of Lok Virsa in contributing towards the flood victims, in particular the flood affected children.
“It is a humble effort on the part of Lok Virsa/Ministry of Culture to create some moments of happiness and joy in the disturbed lives of the flood-affected children on Eid,” said the Lok Virsa ED.
He said the festival would culminate with a colourful event on Chand Raat wherein a number of local artists, musicians, performers, magicians and puppeteers would perform live at Lok Virsa open-air theatre. He said there would bean entry ticket for the show and the proceeds from this show will go to the cause of flood-affected children.
“We along with our partners plan to visit different flood camps in Noshehra, Charsadda and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province for distribution of gifts on Eid day,” said Javaid. Some of the folk artists, folk musicians, puppeteers and magicians will also be invited to accompany the organisers during the visit to make on-the -spot performances for the flood-affected children at their camps, he added.