18th Sauraha Food Festival to be held

CHITWAN, Feb 04: The 18th edition of the annual food festival will be held in Sauraha, Chitwan from February 11. 

The festival is being held on the occasion of Valentine's Day and will run until February 15. It is organized by the Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN), Sauraha Chapter.

Food, music and culture are going to be celebrated together with the aim of attracting both domestic and foreign tourists, said Dhruv Giri, president of the REBAN Sauraha. The festival is estimated to lead to a turnover of Rs 30 million with 5,000 tourists attending it daily.

Program coordinator Surya Bahadur Rimal shared that the festival is organized with the objective of promoting the traditional, local and native food delicacies, local art, culture, and costumes and making Sauraha recognized as a tourist destination at the national and international level.

During the five-day festival, there will be tableau display of multi-castes, musical performances by national and local artists and the Axis Band, food exhibitions and competitions among local tribes, and competition between waiters and waitresses. In addition, there will be a special Valentine's Day program, tug-of-war competition, REBAN Cup municipal level volleyball competition, inter-school dance competition, among others.

According to REBAN Sauraha, around three hundred thousand tourists visited Chitwan National Park in the previous financial year 2079-080. Around 150,000 tourists have already visited the park in the first six months of the current Fiscal Year.