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This week we come to you with stories on:
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It was fun time for cricket media, when Sri Lanka Tourism, hosted a party for them at the world famous Mt. Lavinia beach, last week end. Delicious ‘Kottu Roti’ and a spread of Sri Lankan cuisine vied for top honours with the Channa Upuli Dancers and London based Sri Lankan soprano Gayathri Peries, mesmerising the sports journalists with outstanding performances.
What began with clapping of hands to keep time to the beat of the drums, led to them getting on the dance floor to have a rollicking time, joining the performers and hosts in a time of happy revelry. Sri Lanka’s Cricket legend Sanath Jayasuriya also graced the occasion, just days before taking on his maiden appearance as cricket commentator with ‘Ten Sports’. Our English visitors reporting cricket from Colombo already made a special mention of the evening’s entertainment put on by Sri Lanka Tourism in the London Daily Mail. top |
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Sri Lanka Tourism and Sri Lanka’s Rotary Movement, stayed focussed on their programme initiative to plant 10 million trees under the ‘Tourism’s Earth Lung: Towards a Carbon clean Sri Lanka’ as they travel down to Galle this weekend. English Captain Michael Vaughn, and Vice Captain Paul Collingwood, will inaugurate the campaign in the south at the Galle stadium along with Sri Lankan counterparts Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakkara, and Muthiah Muralitharan adding glamour to project ‘Greening Sri Lanka’.
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‘MCC Centre for Excellence’ a purpose built cricket ground and training facility in Hikkaduwa, will be declared open on the morning of 15th December by club president Mike Brearley. The opening will be followed by a special twenty / 20 cricket match between representatives of the Barmy Army and a team made up, from one time cricketing greats of Sri Lanka. This contribution from the MCC was a follow-up activity in their efforts to assist this famous beach destination and its community rejuvenate itself.
Sri Lanka Tourism join the people of Hikkaduwa, to say a Big Thank You to the MCC and its members for this wonderful gesture of support to one of our best beach based tourism destinations.
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Hikkaduwa is gearing up to smile and dazzle visitors once again and to usher in a new era in tourism with ‘Hikkaduwa Smiles’ a tourism carnival. Streets will be lit and flags will flutter in the December breeze, as each hotel and restaurant goes all out to delight visitors this season.
A vintage car rally featuring British cars will parade down to Hikkaduwa on the 18th and will be exhibited at the Coral Gardens Hotel, followed by an awards presentation and the gala dinner.
On the 19th it will be featured drummers to entertain, while 20th will feature a mini-Perehera (pageant) to keep visitors enthralled.
On the 21st focus will be on a Devil Mask dance and fire walking festival at the Refresh Restaurant. Fireworks will light up the sky on all six days from a rock, set in the sea, while the night clubs play reggae and rock music to keep dancers on the floor all night.
A fashion show will be on at Coral Sands Hotel on the 22nd and the two mile sea swim with the participation of over 250 local and foreign competitors will be grand finale to this splendid line up of events.
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‘Sri Lanka Calling’ congratulates the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka, on its Golden Jubilee . We wish them continuing success as the most outstanding non-professional musical ensemble in Sri Lanka. An orchestra comprised of committed musicians, has over its 50 years of existence, thrilled audiences with many a captivating performances. They have during the Golden Jubilee year crossed oceans to Japan to make a landmark presentation.
The highlight of the Golden Jubilee year is the ‘Asia Orchestra Week’ concert, held in Tokyo, Japan. The India – Sri Lanka Goodwill Orchestra, combining musicians from Sri Lanka, India and Japan performed under the baton of Maestro Hikotaro Yazaki. Our own Harsha Makalande’s ‘Svarasanga Vannama’ for Orchestra, Piano and Local Drums, featuring composer as the pianist and Ravibandu and Jananath Warakagoda on Getaberaya and Thamamattema (Local Drums) respectively, stole the show with its unique sounds and exchanges of the soloists and was reported to be the most spectacular performance at the Asia Orchestra Week’s concerts.
The Golden Jubilee celebrations ends with the Christmas Concerts, conducted by Manilal Weerakoon, and the Orchestra will continue rehearsing for Bizet’s Opera ‘The Pearl Fishers’ presented with co-sponsorship of Sri Lanka Tourism, which goes on board on 9th and 11th January 2008 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall in Colombo.
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Come Saturday 15th December and the Galle Fort will light up to a breathtaking extravaganza ‘Out By A Mile’, when Mardi Gras style partying begins at the Moon Bastion, by the clock tower within the ramparts.
From the 18th to the 20th of December the Galle Ramparts will be a hive of activity With “Business for Peace Alliance” (BPA), a network of all the main regional chambers in Sri Lanka present ‘Shades of Sri Lanka’, a mega trade and cultural fair showcasing true Sri Lankan style identity of unity in diversity.
The BPA is made up 25 regional business chambers with around 15,000 small and medium scale entrepreneurs. ‘Shades of Sri Lanka’ is organized by the Galle District Chamber of Commerce under the aegis of the BPA. The trade and cultural fair will feature entrepreneurs and artistes from all the ethnic communities in Sri Lanka disproving the theory that Sri Lankans are a people divided by ethnicities.
Women entrepreneurs from Vavuniya, Mannar, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara will come down south to display products indigenous to those parts of Sri Lanka alongside produce from the south.
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The most colourful pageant in the south the Bentota Perahera will parade the streets on 29th December from 8.30 – 11.30 p.m. Though not as well known or as publicized as the Kandy Perahera this magnificent parade is equally majestic and colourful with 25 elephants 35 dancing troupes with 800 dancers performing dance forms of the Kandyan , Up country, Low country ( Kavadi) and the Sabaragamuwa traditions.
The Galapatha Raja Maha Viharaya Trustees are the custodians of the tooth relics of Sri Anubuddha Maha Kasyapa a disciple of the Buddha. These relics are said to have been brought to Sri Lanka in the reign of King Devanampiyatissa in the 3rd Century B.C. and the temple is revered by Buddhists and is of great cultural significance. |
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Kumbuk River is a resort, just one year old and is already recognised as being amongst the best in the world. World Travel Awards listed ‘Kumbuk River’ among the world’s 8 best eco-lodges and Times On–Line named it to be among the world’s 50 best green places to stay.
The creative ingenuity of making an Elephant Villa in a pristine location in the remote district of Moneragala deserves accolades and more and we at ‘Sri Lanka Calling’ congratulate the Kumbuk River team for the initiative. ‘Kumbuk River’ is described as a “Spell binding hideout on a magical island”. For more details visit www.kumbukriver.com
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Talented opera singer and Guildhall award winning Sri Lankan, Gayathrie Peiris, currently on holiday in Sri Lanka, gave an outstanding performance to a captivated audience at the Sri Lanka Tourism’s special event for the visiting Cricket Media at the Mt. Lavinia Hotel recently. She is also the winner of the International Young Singer of the Year Competition held at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfodd. Gayathrie, singing a wide repertoire from Oretorio, Opera, Operetta, West End, Broadway and light musicals is accompanied on the piano by her husband William Patrick and the duo keeps audiences spell bound by the mere virtuosity of their performance.
Gayathrie is next scheduled to perform at the Lighthouse Hotel in Galle on the 16th December at a function hosted by Sri Lanka Tourism and Jetwing Hotels, for visiting media and cricketers.
Gayathrie and Bill leave Sri Lanka for Melbourne Australia on 6th January 2008, to continue their tour of performances.
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Please note that a major web upgrading initiative of Sri Lanka Tourism is also underway. We call on all tourism industry stakeholders to keep sending us snippets of news so we could include them in the weekly newsletters, we will bring to you on an improved format.
Sri Lanka Tourism wishes to thank all stakeholders for their wonderful support and assistance and wishes to invite them to get involved with 'Sri Lanka calling'. Please send your articles to stories@srilanka.travel
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