The event, organised by Impressario Events Ltd, sponsors many charities across the state. This year’s is called ‘Save a Girl Child’ mission. The winner will be working for it, too.

Inconsistent smallish showers have been teasing us for a while now. Each state across India is vying for the Hottest-State-Where-Most-People-Die-Of-Heat Award. But, be of good cheer. We’ve spotted the actual South-West Monsoon in the Andaman Islands. Yay!!!

Now, isn’t that good news? Of course. Hoping that the showers will bless Kerala by the end of the month, wait all of us. Eager to be relieved of the sun’s burning heat and to relish the cool rainy days.

Monsoon tourism will get a boost, too. Tourism agents, houseboat operators, homestay and hotel owners, restaurants, and just about everyone depending on tourists are awaiting the golden showers.

This Ornamental Fish & Accessories Exhibition and Trade Fair is being organised by the Department of Fisheries, Government of Kerala, along with the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. It will be a great chance for exhibiting and marketing fish, fish-related products and accessories.

There will be competitions for ornamental fish, on features such as breeding, innovative practices, technology and display, for breeders, amateurs and traders. You can also check out the exclusive pavilion for imported aquariums. Prizes will be given away during the show, with highlights on cultural and art performances during and after the prizes distribution.

This aqua show will benefit manufacturers and distributors of aquarium, aquarium accessories and related products. Those dealing in fish medicines, drugs, treatment chemicals, fish food, fishery products, publishers of fisheries-related literature, and exporters of ornamental fish will be able to promote their business as well as interact with government bodies and the public.

Source: www.aquashowkerala.com

Check out: http://www.hotelsthekkady.com/2010/01/thekkady-lake-alive-with-tourist-boats/

The Fashion Expo 2009, scheduled for Dec. 18-20, 2009, will be hosted at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in Kochi, by Admakers Expo Company, a city-based event management concern that has 10 years experience in the field.

Fashion shows, product launches, seminars and fashion competitions have been planned for this three-day event. The functions across the days will benefit professionals from individuals and sectors such as textile, silk, ethnic fabrics, fashion designers and publications, leather garments, fashion accessories and equipment.

Exhibitors come from from fields such as textiles, jewellery, diamond, wedding collections, interior products and materials, glassware, household appliances, leather items and various apparels and accessories,

We checked out the place. It’s comfy, easily accessible, and away from the din of the city but still rocking. And there’s two floors of it. Lots and lots of tables and corners to choose from…!

The service is damn quick, menu has been improved and the lighting and seating is just right. The non-chair seats are not cushioned, though. That’s a small dampener. For the veggies, there’s quite a bit to choose from. Kids have gameboxes to order – the chicken comes with it. The 12-buck softy is too good to pass.

Their feedback form is absolutely revamped – different from the usual ‘tick the correct box’ types, and is a two fold, colourfully-worded one.

If you haven’t been to the KFC outlet in Cochin yet, shame on you. Go ahead and learn your lickonomics of the day. We’re sure you will go back for more!

Kids hang their X’mas stocking for Santa’s gifts. Mothers go shopping for clothes, cakes, wine, and all kinds of knick-knacks suitable for X’mas. Men bring out the X’mas tree and start decorating it. All in all, it is a time for cheer and merrymaking.

There was a time when, as kids, we used to bring home the topmost part of a coniferous tree and put it up in front of our homes with colour papers and stars on it. But now we see plastic trees that come in all sizes and shapes; some even with the names of people’s favourite movie stars on them!!

Several shops in the city have started stocking up ‘X’mas stuff’. A few boutiques have put up sale boards – you can buy anything from colourful candles and tree decorations to X’mas-themed linen here. Bakeries and hotels stack rows and rows of X’mas cakes – plain plum ones to rich, rum-soaked, dry fruit special ones.

The majority of the shopping in Cochin is concentrated on Broadway, behind Menaka Junction, and in supermarkets across the city. And, don’t forget that a lot of shops announce an ‘end of the year sale’, too. Here, you can shop for non-X’mas things as well.

Pick up your shopping bag and grab the best this X’mas.

Parikrama has chosen 11-year-old band Evergreen, a Kochi-based one, to perform with them. Rock on, Kochiites!!

What we’re talking of is the latest food joint to hit Cochin. KFC’s first outlet in Kerala is located on the ground floor of the Gold Souk, at Vytilla. It is easily accessible – right in the heart of town, and located in a 5,00,00sq.ft shopping mall.

KFC has over 18,000 restaurants in about 50 countries. In India, they have 50 outlets in 11 cities! Head to the nearest one, right here in Cochin. KFC has tailored its menu to suit the Indian palate: there’s veg burgers, rice meal options, krushers (cool drinks), toasted wraps, desserts and, of course, the famous chicken buckets. So… dig in!

In the third edition of the festival, the organisers reiterate that the focus is on trade and tourism. To make Kerala an international shopping destination. And can you imagine what shops comes under the fest’s banner? There will be textiles, jewellery, electronics, consumer durables, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, health clubs, ayurveda centres, automobile, handicrafts and more.

The Event is managed by CRAYONS Advertising Ltd, and will span all the districts in Kerala. Mass media coverage and advertising will boost sales like never before. Road shows are being planned in south India as well as in the Gulf countries. As the shopping fest falls in the peak tourism season, it can make use of Indian as well as foreign tourists, and NRIs.

Also visit: www.grandkeralashoppingfestival.com

About a thousand well-known artistes from various art and culture backgrounds will perform over this 26-day period to showcase the richness of Kerala’s art forms. From Yakshagana, Mudiyettu, Padayani, and Theyyam, to Mohiniyattom, Kathakali, Kummattikali and Nadanpattu, there are a host of programmes – about 370 of them – to entice you.

In Cochin, the stages are set at the Vasco da Gama Square at Fort Cochin, Bolghatty Palace, Kumbalanghi Model Tourism Society Hall and at Munnambam in Vypeen.

So, what are you waiting for? Jump on, and enjoy!!

India is moving from an agrarian economy to an industrial one. But that has not diminished the importance of agriculture to the people and the country. This Expo will showcase exhibitors from a variety of fields – coffee, tea, spices, organic agricultural products, organic cosmetics, food processing, herbal and wellness products, super markets, fisheries, financial institutions and agricultural research and extension institutions.

It will be a grand opportunity for homestay entrepreneurs and eco-lodges in India to come forward and share the information as well to learn new ways of merging agriculture and tourism. Seminars, presentations and discussions  with experts from India and abroad will be the highlight. An international experience indeed!

Visit: http://www.iiagriexpo.com/

The Voyager Trophy Boat Race which took shape after the holidayers’s request to watch a boat race similar to the Nehru Trophy Boat Race, will take place on November 4, from 9 30 a.m. to 11 30 a.m. Alappuzha District Tourism Promotion Council, which is co-organising the race, plans to rope in artistes of traditional Kerala art forms and percussion events.

Every year thousands of Malayalees and tourists gather in the months of July, August and September to watch a hoard of big and small boat races on the Vembanad Lake and the Punnamada Lake.

Around February – April, you can see loads of migratory birds flocking to the estuary and mangroves here. Besides this there are the usual terns and gulls. The area is also home to a score of native birds, fish and variety of crabs.

This sanctuary is blessed with natural resources. The Kadalundipuzha empties into the Arabian Sea here. The climate here, too, is very favourable for a day’s visit. A hillock nearby provides for a great view as well as for exploration.

The seating is comfortable, the ambience nice and calm. Music is good, too. The lighting inside and on the porch is mentionably good. Not to forget the colourful fountains outside. There are a couple of tables inside, and a few sprawled in a portico outside.

The ice cream flavours range from apricot, coffee and Scottish crunch to Kafchoc almond – a mix of slightly dark chocolate and almonds. Then, there are the usual likes of chocolate, strawberry and pista. Shakes and sundaes and a bunch of kiddie favourites, too, line the menu.

The outlet has a relaxing atmosphere, and one of its advantages is that it is located within the town area, but still shielded from the hustle and bustle.

The service is good, chairs and sofas comfortably aligned and space, and the music average. The ambience is strengthened by bright blue and pick upholstery that blends with the wall colours and glass tables. And not to forget, visitors can avail free WiFi.

It is located at the beginning of Cheruparambathu Road at Kadavanthra, Cochin. It is open  from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Get to know the local history, interact with villagers, attend native functions and buy indegenous products. This way you will remember the state’s most intricate details. Also, what better way to experience nature? You don’t have to sit in cloistered hotel rooms; instead live in spacious, homely rooms, tree houses, eco-lodges and riverside retreats.

Visit: www.homestayscochin.com

Jointly organised by the Union Ministry for Agriculture and Kerala Tourism Department, the exhibition has 80 stalls from all over the country. It will be attended by the Coconut Board, Spices Board and the Coir Board. A great time for the state to develop tourism.

It is a three day event where farmers and agriculturists can learn about new technology in the industry and a time for people to attend seminars and cultural events. The seminars on 29 and 30 will be attended by renowned agricultural scientists and researchers. It will take place at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute.

There will be sessions on efficient use of water and fertilisers, improving the fisheries and the animal sector and plant protection measures. An Onam market will be opened by the state agricultural department.

The boat race which will mark the beginning tomorrow will begin with nine snake boats at Champakulam, 25km from Alleppey. The Rajiv Gandhi Trophy Boat Race will follow next month at Pulinkunnu on August 22. After that the Aranmula Uthiritadhi boat race will be conducted on September 6.

The oarsmen’s rowing is controlled by the cheerers’ vanchipattu, the song whose beats and rhythm is kept up by the oarsmen. People from all over the state, locals and tourists flock to watch the boat races. You can see women and children enthusiastically cheering them on. The races are followed by traditional celebrations and joyous bursting of crackers. Travellers can get a close view of the area’s people and their ways of life.

Other popular races are Erapuzha Chathayam Boat Race, Karuvatta Boat Race, Mannar Boat Race, Nehru Trophy Boat Race, Payippad Jalolsavam, Neerattupuram Boat Race and the Santosh Trophy Race.