The City of Joy waits with bated breath all year for Park Street to be lit up in festive cheer. For Kolkata, Christmas truly is Bodo Din, translates into the ‘Big Day’, as the happy notes of carols and whiff of freshly baked cakes engulfs everyone in a bubble of joy which lasts till the New Year.
With the calendar inching closer to the Burra Din, the West Bengal government’s information and cultural affairs department brought together the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Kolkata Police and Apeejay Surrendra Group for a media conference to announce the annual Kolkata Christmas Festival.
Like every year, Bow Barracks will also be illuminated
The schedule for the 14th edition of the festival was announced at The Park Kolkata on Tuesday. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee will inaugurate the festival on December 19 at Allen Park at 4.30pm, kicking off a series of events that will conclude on December 30. Besides Allen Park, the entire stretch of Park Street and St. Paul’s Cathedral (Cathedral Road) will also be illuminated with proper branding till January 5. Like previous years, the bustling neighbourhood of the city’s Anglo-Indian community, Bow Barracks, will also be lit up.
A musical programme has been arranged on Camac Street from December 21 to 23. Kolkata Police will put up its own cultural programme on December 26. Though shut on December 24 and 25, Allen Park will be the place to be between December 27 and 30 as the tourism department and the information and cultural affairs department will collaborate to stage performances by various eminent artistes from West Bengal. “Apart from the beloved carol groups of Kolkata’s most prominent churches, schoolchildren will also usher in the Christmas spirit to light with their music,” said Maria Fernandes, vice-chairperson, West Bengal Forest Development Corporation Limited.
The details of this year’s Kolkata Christmas Festival were unveiled at a media conference at The Park on December 17
Kiosks put up by the tourism department and the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation Limited will also be present within the venue, along with a comprehensive first-aid stall. “There will be food kiosks offering rare culinary delights from across Bengal, along with a variety of cakes. Schoolchildren will also be performing,” Fernandes said.
“We will extend the celebrations beyond Kolkata, by illuminating prominent edifices around West Bengal, including churches at Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Asansol, Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, Chandannagar, Bandel, Krishnanagar, Jhargram, Purulia, Baruipur, Alipurduar, Howrah and Bidhannagar,” Fernandes said.
“The brainchild of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the Kolkata Christmas Festival has been growing steadily each year, ever since she first organised it in 2011. This year, the footfall, especially of tourists from outside, is expected to go up manifold, and we promise that the scale of celebrations will be unmatched,” West Bengal tourism minister Indranil Sen said.
