The vibrant and culturally rich land of Goa is gearing up for the 79th edition of the much-awaited ‘Patoieachem Fest,’ a celebration of tradition, culture, and community spirit. Curated by Festakar Marius Fernandes, this year’s festival promises an array of captivating events and experiences for attendees of all ages.
The festival will take place at the picturesque Angela Residency in Carambolim, Ilhas, on September 3. The festivities will kick off at 2 pm with the enchanting sounds of recorded Konkani music filling the Pàtio, creating an immersive atmosphere. The festival-goers will have the opportunity to engage in a captivating Mollam making workshop conducted by Shaila Khandeparkar, and Santan Rebello doing a Rotesao demonstration, adding an educational and interactive element to the event.
The heart of the festival will begin when all gather at the Angela Residency main gate, alongside the priest and the host, Angela Valladares. Angela along Dr Gwendolyn de Ornelas, will be carrying trays laden with Patoieo leaves, jaggery, coconut and cinnamon rolls. These trays will be blessed by the priest in a short prayer, marking the start of the festival’s procession.
The procession, known as Patoieachi Pasoi, will commence with Festakar Marius Fernandes and host Angela leading the way. Along the route, Chef Marie Dias and Gerald Lopes will greet and serve the guests with boiled grams, adding a warm and welcoming touch. The procession will culminate at the venue, where the formal inauguration ceremony will take place. The event’s compère, Cletto Fernandes, will invite five distinguished guests to light the lamps.
The festival will officially be declared open by coordinator Prakash Kamat. The afternoon will be filled with enriching performances and workshops. Dr Glenis Mendonça, an English professor from Carmel College, Nuvem, will captivate the audience with her performance singing Konkani classics.
The festival has a rich history, been initiated by Festakar Marius Fernandes in 2006. It has travelled to Socorro village and in 2022, in Madkai and is now delighted to find its home in Carambolim for this edition.
Throughout the day, workshops, performances, and conversations will continue to captivate the attendees. A grafting workshop guided by Gaurish Karanzalkar of Goa College of Agriculture, Ela. A riveting performance by Konkani Rapper Carisio Azavedo, the festival promises a diverse and immersive experience.
The festivities will add flavour with the vibrant beats of the ghumot and drum circle, led by Bryan Fernandes and Gwendolyn De Ornelas, accompanied by the goencho festakar team with percussion instruments.
Attendees can then indulge in a delightful serving of black tea with lemon grass (futti chai) paired with choneacho ros and Goan authentic sannas.
Cleto Fernandes, student of Goa College of Agriculture, Ela will be making his debut as a compère, and there will also be a performance of Konkani songs under the guidance of MC Cleto Fernandes with the students of the agriculture college.
Some of the Goan sweets are famous across the world but are now becoming rare like Nache Satva, Patoieo, Batica. A workshop will be conducted by Chef Marie Dias on Patoieo while Chef Irene Dias will be training participants on the Batica. This unique event will be a zero waste fest, and inclusive with a celebration of Goan culture, knowledge, economic empowerment of communities, music, revival of food and recipes, workshops and most importantly inclusion of all communities.
Marius spoke about the millets as the UN crop of the year and Goa College of Agriculture, Ela will display different types of millets at the fest. “Another important milestone will be celebrated after the success of the Millet festival in Leicester, UK that connected Goa College of Agriculture, Ela with The Agriculture College of Uganda. The dean of the college in Goa, Suresh Kunkalikar gifted me nine different types of millets that were displayed at the fest in UK and in turn I gifted them to Steve White MBE and ex-Uganda Dhirubhai Shah, who will be sending it to the college in Kampala and perhaps start a Millets Revolution in the African continent,” says Marius.
On a positive note, Goa College of Agriculture, Ela, Old Goa has already grown half an acre of millets this year in their campus. They will be growing new crop in October/November on another two acres land. “Millets are the crops of the future. It can be cultivated throughout the year on any terrain and with very less water,” adds Marius.