Bago Region’s Karen New Year festival will be held at a football stadium in Minhla township from December 16 to 18 this year, according to an official from the Bago Region Karen Literature and Culture Committee.
The three-day festival will feature performances by the Karen Youth Network, Myanmar Christian Fellowship of the Blind, and Karen singers including Myanmar Idol Season 1 champion Saw Lar Htaw War and contestants from Eain Mat Sone Yar, said Saw Shwe Thein, secretary of Minhla township Karen Literature and Culture Committee.
“I’m happy that we will be able to hold a regional-level New Year festival in our township. The government will give K20 million [US$1500] for the festival. We will use the donations to cover the rest [of the budget],” Saw Shwe Thein added.
“We have invited other ethnic culture groups from Bago Region, such as the Pa-O, the Kayah [Karenni], the Mon, and the Chin to come and perform [at the festival]. We will perform the Karen don dance on the night of December 17,” said Saw Augustine, Bago Region’s Karen Literature and Culture Committee information officer.
Minhla township has held over 20 township-level Karen New Year’s festivals, but it is the first time that it will host the regional-level celebration. Last year’s Bago Region Karen New Year festival was held in Kyaukkyi Township.
