LAHORE: Lahore Eat, touted as the biggest food festival of the city, would finally commence from March 31 inside the Fortress Stadium, Daily Times has learnt on Monday. From the most creative and talented chefs to the street vendors, the three-day event promises to celebrate full diversity of food that the heart of Pakistan has to offer. Organised by CKO Event Architecture together with Latitude CRS, Lahore Eat was built around the idea of creating a common platform for all those who love food. “We plan on giving the citizens an opportunity to taste extraordinary culinary delights while being immersed in a complete heavenly experience that brings them face-to-face with the food they eat and people who make it,” CKO Event Architecture CEO Omar Omari said, while talking exclusively to Daily Times. He started Karachi Eat four years ago. “For Lahoris, food is clearly much more than fuel for the body and through this festival we plan on embracing the pleasure and value of great flavour,” he added, during an exclusive interview with this scribe. The organisers admitted that regular postponement of the event had caused a great amount of inconvenience and confusion among the brands associated with them. However, they were confident that this year’s event would be bigger, better and safer, as it was being held within arguably the safest premises of the provincial capital. “Had it been a one-time event, we would’ve cancelled it or relocated to a private venue. But our aim is to encourage aspiring entrepreneurs to take up this profession and to develop the brand name so it could be taken to other cities as well. That’s precisely the reason why we wanted a public place and we are glad that Fortress Stadium would be the venue this year,” Omari remarked. As compared to Jilani Park, which was the initial venue, Fortress Stadium would not only provide the audience with a greater sense of security but would also facilitate a large number of people with an open and secure parking space. It is pertinent to mention that the mega event was scheduled to begin on February 10 but owing to growing security concerns, the Punjab government had postponed it initially for a week and then for an indefinite period following the bomb blast on Mall Road. “After consulting thoroughly with all relevant departments and agencies, it has been mutually decided to shift the event forward to new dates,” Lahore DCO Lahore had said while postponing the event. It was only a couple of days ago that the organisers of Lahore Eat received an NOC from the government and hence the permission was granted. The organisers deplored that the governments, instead of supporting such endeavours, act as a hurdle and make things extremely difficult, adding that it’s the duty of the state to provide security to each individual and not subvert them. Omari was of the view that Pakistan needs to have more such public events, reclaiming parks and public spaces where ordinary people can enjoy and have fun. It is expected that for three days, Fortress Stadium would transform into a veritable foodie wonderland, with entertainment and fun-filled activities for the entire family. Zaman Khan is the Web Editor at Daily Times. He Tweets at @khanz657