Several folk artists, craftsmen, dance groups and rural musicians from all over Pakistan have assembled on the Lok Virsa ground with all their traditional art and craft collection to be a part of the 10-day long folk festival 'Lok Mela' being held from 3 to 12 June 2011 at Shakarparian in Islamabad.
The event is being organized in Islamabad under the banner of Lok Virsa, the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage.
Artisans from rural and remote areas across the country are exhibiting their skills at the festival in order to earn national level recognition.
Artisans, irrespective of their age, are displaying various arts and crafts nearing extinction like Farasi weaving, leather embroidery, Sindhi cap, Sindhi embroidery, lacquer art, Khes weaving, Thari embroidery, wax printing, Daree weaving, Khyber pakhtunkhwa embroidery, shawl weaving, etc.
The event marked its opening with Rasm-e-Dastarbandi, a tradition of paying honour to a renowned master artisan by gifting a shawl. It implies Lok Virsa's unceasing drive to sustain country's heritage and keep it rolling.
The fair presents, the high-profile as well as ordinary people in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, with an opportunity to enjoy an authentic cultural entertainment and to buy conventional handicraft items at reasonable rates.
At the fair, artisans are able to sell their hand-made items directly to the public and thus the fair is contributing to the upliftment of rural artisans.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
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