Kashmir winter festival of music and adventure

"I am very delighted to announce India`s first winter festival of music and adventure. Gulmarg Winter Festival 2012 is going to provide a platform for artists from J-K to showcase their talent," said Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Tourism and Culture Nawang Rigzin Jora.

The 3-day music and adventure winter festival from March 9 at Gulmarg is supported by the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism department.

The minister said music and adventure will not only attract a large number of people but will also encourage them to promote peace and harmony.

"The event would involve local people displaying their handicrafts skill and also offer a platform to artists from Jammu and Kashmir to showcase soulful and peaceful music along with invigorating folk dance performances," said Aditya Shinde organiser of the festival put together by Soul curators and Synapses Adventures.

"The festival is a celebration of winter sports, great music, wonderful people, vibrant cultures, sumptuous food and opportunities. It promote winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding. It showcases some of the best and upcoming local and national music talents from the country", Shinde said.

The festival also hopes to be a gateway to the natural beauty, music art and culture and the delicious cuisine of Kashmir. Music across different genres ranging from classical, soul, jazz, rock, fusion, alternative to electronic would be showcased at the festival.

The festival throws spotlight on skiing and snowboarding in Gulmarg, a place famed for its excellent powder snow and ranked as one of the top global for winter sports.

A business conference hosting travel tradesmen, adventure gear distributors and retailers and social media specialists would be held on March 8 to create networking opportunities for the business community.

A food fiesta featuring the best of local restaurants and Kashmiri specialities would also be featured at the event.