Hundreds of artists will gather at the Arambol beach in Goa next month to display their talent during a carnival parade being hosted annually by locals and international tourists.
The 'Art of Carnival' will be held in the last week of February at Arambol beach in North Goa, 40 kms away from here.
Holland-based musician ZouZou, who conceptualised this unique festival one and half decades back, said the theme of this year's event would be ocean.
"It's 15 years back when it started. Carnival is an age-old tradition here. Portuguese were here for 450 years and therefore carnival became part of their world," he said.
He said that initially the carnival used to happen on the streets of Arambol, with a walk to the beach. "But from third year onwards, it was shifted to the beach exclusively," ZouZou said.
"Every 300-400 metres there is artists' installations on the beach. At each of the art installation there is a small performance. To bring the crowd from one art installation to the next, there is a big cart, which has a very large and extraordinary art object. Next to the cart there are drummers. That gives public a chance to move with the beat," he said.
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State tourism department official said that though the event is not formally recognised on the event calendar, it helps to generate more footfalls.
"Armbol carnival has become an annual event for which tourists wait. That helps the tourism sector in the state to grow," he said.