The fourth magnificent edition of the international
performing arts, travel and tourism experience ‘Worldfest 2016’ - an exclusive
showcase of food, music, performances, cultures, handicrafts, and so much more
from across the globe, concluded on Sunday night (4th December) on a high note,
with people asking for more!
This edition, people were treated to an experience of
diverse cultures from participating countries including Sri Lanka, Egypt,
Indonesia, Brazil, United Kingdom, Germany, Argentina, Afghanistan, Siberia,
China, Poland, Colombia, Ethiopia and Spain. Over 100 artists from these countries,
including dancers, musicians and singers performed at the Stage 1 and Stage 2,
besides putting up food pop-ups for their visitors.
While Indonesian dancers enthralled the audience with
their renowned traditional dance form, the performers from Brazil left them
asking for more. The soulful act by Afghanistan-based singers provided an
ecstatic and heartwarming Sufi music experience. Polish live music and dance
performance along with the artists playing Jai Ho song (Slumdog Millionaire)
was an experience in itself. Similarly, people were pleasantly surprised with
the UK-based talent’s brilliant performance on the song, Kabhie Kabhie (Kabhie
Kabhie). Accordingly, splendid acts by countries including China, Siberia and
Spain were a memorable one.
Day 2 of Worldfest 2016 started with a bang with a
marvelous performance by Chinese artists whereas the mannequin challenge
featuring a huge crowd proved to be an interesting activity. Kids World was
buzzing with activities as the popular cartoon character Chota Bheem interacted
with kids and also clicked selfies with them. Food bloggers and the family
crowd who attended the two-day festival had a blast discovering different
cuisines at Food Stalls by various participating countries. Special mention to
a coffee-tasting session by Ethiopia.
Special performances by Divya Arora and Tom Alter on 3rd
December (World Disabled Day) were truly an inspiring one. The carnival parade
on both the days with countries showcasing their traditional costumes was one
of the major highlights. Ferriswheel played the perfect host to the 14
countries by treating them with Mumbai street delicacies.
Shubhra Bhardwaj said, “It was an amazing experience to
see the streets of Mumbai’s Ballard Estate come to life with sights and sounds
from across the globe! Mumbai witnessed a bright and colourful spectacle,
consisting of performances from 14 countries.”
Zheng Xiyuan, Consul General of the People’s Republic of
China in Mumbai said, “I really love this kind of international cultural show,
which could help better understanding and friendship between different peoples.
This time we organized one Chinese cultural troupe to come to Mumbai for this
event, aiming to increasing local people’s interest in China and Chinese
culture. We would like to continue to participate in similar function in the
future.”
“Both China and India are great civilizations; we are
also most two populous nations in the world. Over the past 2000 years, culture
has been the key bond between our two countries and peoples, and cultural
exchanges could easily narrow the gap between different peoples’ feeling about
each other. Culture and people-to-people exchanges are of great importance to
Sino-Indian overall relations,” he adds.
After three successful editions in the year 2011, 2012
and 2014, the world’s ultimate food and travel escapade – the brainchild of Ms
Shubhra Bhardwaj (Founder & Creative Director of Ferriswheel Entertainment
Pvt Ltd), the fourth edition hosted a series of interactive, informative and engaging
events over the weekend, 3rd and 4th December, which was met with an
unprecedented response.
As Ferriswheel’s annual international Performing Arts
Festival – Worldfest 2016 came to a drawing close, they thanked the audience
for gracing the two-day festival with their presence and encouraging all the
performers.
