ALAAP LAHORE FESTIVAL OF ARTS (ALFA) 2008

The Alaap Lahore Festival of Arts (ALFA) is an effort to promote socio-political peace, cultural diversity, interfaith harmony and regional cooperation through emphasizing upon the great pro-peace cultural heritage of Pakistan as the most profound and dependable peace force capable of extinguishing the fire of religious extremism, cultural alienation, provincial animosities and political rivalries.

The festival shall involve maximum number of the literary organizations, art galleries, museums, educational institutes, civil society organizations, cultural forums, media organizations and commercial ventures in order to symbolically recreate the cultural depth of Lahore spanning more than one thousand years. Besides this, the festival shall represent excellence of senior and young Pakistani artists. The best cultural and intellectual representation of NWFP, Sindh, Balochistan and Azad Kashmir shall also be the part of the festival.

The Alaap Lahore Festival of Arts (ALFA) shall include artistic expressions such as poetry (Urdu-Punjabi-Hindi), Dance (Classical, modern, mime), paintings, puppetry, music (Classical, Semi-Classical, Folk, Ghazal, Pop), sculptor, calligraphy, photography, crafts and theatre (Indian-Pakistani). The festival includes 4 Discussion Sessions inviting leading intellectuals and thinkers of Pakistan and India. All the sessions shall start with scholarly paper totaling 14 in 5-day festival. While bringing 14 Lahore related Indian Celebrities and 35 other prominent Indian writers and artists, the festival shall assemble the best possible combination of Pakistani and Indian cultivated minds and souls.

The festival shall emphasize upon the great pro-peace cultural heritage of Lahore by paying tribute to its 100 great personalities. The 12 gates of Lahore shall also be paid tribute, in the launching ceremony, by the 12 living legends of Lahore. The festival shall symbolically recreate the 1,000 years history of Lahore by displaying the traditional crafts, games and other cultural expressions rooted in the history of this city. The stalls shall include the traditional foods of the Lahore.

Tentative Program Details: