Odisha sand art festival begins on Saturday

Bhubaneswar, Nov 30 (IANS) Odisha's popular International Sand Art Festival will kick off here on Saturday, said an official on Friday.Slated to take place at the Chandrabhaga Beach near Konark, the five-day festival will see participation of over 30 Indian and 10 international artists from Mexico, Spain, Singapore, France, Norway, Germany, the Netherland and the US, the Odisha Tourism Department said.With renowned sand artist and Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi head Sudarsan Pattnaik as its brand ambassador, the festival has given a huge boost to the state's tourism. The festival will run from December 1 to 5.Apart from being a melange of diverse sand sculptures, the festival will also award the best sand art with a cash prize of Rs 1,00,000, it added.
--IANS sj/nir