10 January 2008 Rating 9% No Comment  

Xaghra Local Council is keeping with its tradition and is organising another edition of the village's Carnival between Saturday the 26th of January and Tuesday the 5th of February. This carnival's main aim is to entertain all members of the family hence the theme chosen for this year "The Family's Carnival". A spectacular programme of activities will be held on Saturday the 26th of January from 4.30pm onwards in the main square. . The programme starts with a band march by the Victory Band from the club's premises in Marija Bambina Street passing through 8th September Avenue and ending in Victory Square. The programme will include amongst other items competitions for the best carnival costumes for different age groups. Other competitions which draw a lot of interest include those for the best carnival masquerade, best decorated agricultural tractor and ponies drawing carts. The traditional Gostra will once again be held together with several dances by different schools and other Dance groups. One of them will be representations by various coloured floats. Besides enjoying Carnival in Xaghra all those present will participate in a raffle with free tickets offered giving them a chance to win a D.V.D. player, a mobile phone set and a hamper laden with Gozitan traditional foodstuff. A glass of local wine will also be freely offered to all present adults. The Kumittiva will be the main attraction of this programme. Il-Kumittiva is synonymous with the village. This traditional Gozitan carnival dance dates back to 1890 . The village of Xaghra was instrumental in keeping this carnival dance alive.and the local council worked hard to revive this tradition especially when it started organizing the village's carnival. The programme ends with a grand concert in Xaghra's main square by John Cassar better known as Johnny Cash and his group The Broadcasters who will entertain the public until late at night. They will be singing from their vast repertoire of songs. It is worth mentioning that this programme draws large crowds including local residents, Maltese and foreigners. This year's theme " The Family's Carnival" was inspired by comments received from the public during the years when they stated that Xaghra's carnival delivers good entertainment for the whole family including the young ones !! A performance of the Il-Kummittiva will be repeated on Saturday the 2nd of February at the Nazzarene square starting at 7.30pm. Finally on the last day of Carnival, Tuesday the 5th of February at 7.30pm, il-Kumittiva will be danced for the last time in Victory Square . The programme will also include dances from schoolchildren and other dancing groups. Mr. Joe Louis Sciberras will be the presenter. Xaghra Local Council is inviting everyone to come and enjoy the Carnival activities in a relaxed friendly atmosphere. Entertainment is guaranteed for all the family !