Annual elephant festival to hold next month

(KPL) The Lao National Tourism Administration in collaboration with Sayaboury provincial Administration and the ElefantAsia has announced the upcoming of the 4th annual Elephant Festival on 20-21 February in Hongsa district.
According to last Friday press conference, held at the Lao Journalist’s Association.The 4th annual Elephant Festival will hold in Viengkeo village, Hongsa district, Sayaboury province.
An approximate 50 elephants expected to attend the festival, which all elephants come from local districts.This year’s event anticipates to be a finer and there will be more cultural affair, said Programme Manager of ElefantAsia, Mr.Gilles Maurer.
The festival was following on from the skyrocketing success of the 2009 Elephant Festival.
Mr.Gilles Maurer said this year’s festival endeavours to highlight the strong bonds that exist between man and elephant in a region of Laos still steeped in the rich cultural heritage of domesticated elephant ownership.Activities on offer include elephant procession, bathing, elephant ceremonies, logging demonstrations, treks, rides and the coveted ‘Elephant of the Year’ competition.
There will be trade fair, concerts, firework displays and handicrafts are all on offer for partygoers to continue the celebrations well into the sparking Laotian night.
The Elephant Festival not only celebrates the beauty of the Asian elephant, but also generates much needed income to areas of the Laos suffering poverty with very few methods of income-raising besides subsidence living.“The Elephant Festival is a significant way of educating local and international visitors about the plight of this endangered species in Laos.” Said, Mr.Gilles Maurer.
Mr.Gilles Maurer also said, “this year we are also collaborating with the Lao Illegal Wildlife Trafficking Campaign in order to highlight the need to protect the nation’s species from extinction.”

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