The National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) will bring cultural glimpses for fun lovers of twin cities in a weeklong “Saqafati Mela” Cultural Festival 2023 to be held here from June 16. The festival aims to promote Pakistan’s folk heritage strengthening national harmony and integration among all federating units through a cultural perspective and contributing to minimize poverty among master artisans by providing them a platform to demonstrate their skills at national level. The inaugural ceremony of the Festival will be held on Friday, 16th June at Lok Virsa Open Air Theatre while a Cultural Diversity Show featuring folk artists and folk musicians will be held on Saturday, 17th June. Performances by PNCA Performing Art Theater and Musical Fusion Night will also be part of the activities. Daily attractions during the festival include the exhibition of artisans-at-work, the exhibition of folk paintings, the exhibition by Meo community, performances by traditional drummers (Dholis), folk dance performances, craft bazaar, folk cuisine, puppet show, children play area and cultural stalls. The festival will continue daily from 12:00 (Noon) to 11:00 pm. Established in the year 1974, Lok Virsa is a specialized institution working under the National Heritage and Culture Division dealing with research, collection, documentation, preservation and dissemination of Pakistan’s folk Heritage. The Institute takes various initiatives to ensure the projection of indigenous folk culture and the continuance of craft and musical traditions, said the organizers.