NATIONAL10 [(Spotlight Weelky)]

Curtain-raiser For The Festival

The Dashain Mahotsav 2000 is to kick off on 8 September for five days at Bhrikuti Mandap

By AKSHAY SHARMA

The inauguration of Dashain Mahotshav 2000 will be significantly different than the normal practice in the country. An attempt will be made to enhance the spirit of Bada Dashain with the organizing of Dashain Mahotshav 2000 on this festive occasion.

Organized in co-operation with the Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Individual programs by central Police Dog Training School, Kennel Club of Nepal, Nepal Pediatric Society, Education Consultants Association of Nepal, Federation of Business and Professional Women and Nepal Karate Federation are scheduled for the occasion. The event is sponsored by Mt. Everest Brewery, Shree Distillery, Everest Ice cream, IFT ( New Delhi), Deluxe Radio Service, Pepsi, Johnson & Johnson, Top Town Catering and Standard Nursery.

The Dashain Mahotshav 2000 is the biggest event of its kind in Nepal in terms of number of exhibitors, visitors, number of activities and the area of coverage of the event. Besides being the biggest, it is also the only up- scale consumer fair in terms of quality of exhibitors, programs and management. About 175 companies will participate in the festival selling consumer items and a variety of food products and delicacies. The Mahotshav will host numerous participants from Nepal, India and Pakistan.

As in the past, Dashain Mahotshav is an event for the whole family, for tourists as well as Nepalese. About 1,00,000 people are expected to visit the Dashain Mahotshav in the stretch of five days.

The Mahotshav has traditionally been the biggest consumer get- together and also a popular market for Dashain shopping. The Mahotsav 2000 is one of the most powerful and effective forum for consumer product promotion and especially a launch pad for new consumer products.

The exhibitors list include Dabur, Nepal Lever, Dilmah Tea, Revlon, Shahnaz Hussien, Personi, Oasis, Golcha Organization, Chaudhary Group, Gold Star, Mimi, Johnson & Johnson, Heinz, Seagram, King's Pride, Kwality, V.K. Thapar, Mercantile, Cosmos, Haldiram, Namaste Supermarket, Dillibazzar Supermarket, Raymond, Philips, Rum-Pum Noodles, Syakar, Century Masala, Triveni Group, Hitachi, Sherpa Outdoor Equipment and Samsonite. One of the main features of Dashain shopping will be the India Mart.

As in the past, about 20 programs along with the food festival shall take place during the five days of the Mahotshav. The Food Festival is an important part of the event. Kathmandu's popular restaurants such as Hot Breads, Durbar palace, Austrian Delicatessen, Alice's Restaurant and Talegu will be serving a variety of international food items as usual. The Mahaotshav also provides ample opportunities for new and up- coming performers to take the stepping stone to professionalism in music, dance, modeling or sports to show their skills.

The premier youth magazine, Wave, is launching their " new- look " at the Mahotshav with a wave of "Wave" concerts.

The IIFT Fashion Summit 2000 sponsored by International Institute of Fashion Technology ( New Delhi) will present fashion collections of Pawan Sodhi, a leading fashion designer of India.

While the favorites of last year the Body of the year, Archery Championship, Baby and Toddler Show will be retained this year, new attractions such as Kids Motor Ranch and Education and Career Day are being introduced for the first time.

In the true spirit of Bada Dashain, House of Rajkarnikar Exhibition and Events shall recognize and honor an individual with life time achievement award for making an outstanding and life long contribution to Nepalese culture and society during the inauguration of the Dashain Mahotshav 2000. The Mahotshav is to be inaugurated as a special occasion by Nepal's Bada Guruju , Keshari Raj Pandey.