Qala International Folk Festival

QALA INTERNATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL (QIFF)

15^th -19^th September 2011

The village of Qala will again be the main host of the 6^th edition of the Qala International Folk Festival, better known as the QIFF, when the Qala Local Council in collaboration with the Menhir Qala Folk Group will organize a four-day event, full of music, song and dance, which has become a regular, in the annual calendar of events on the island of Gozo,

The festival, will be held between Thursday, 15 until Sunday, 19 September, 2011, will include the excellent participation of 3 foreign groups from hailing from Belarus, Ireland and Sicily together with local groups and bands. The Brestchanka (Bielorrussia), the Inis Ealga (Ireland) and the Citta Dei Templi (Sicily) will be joined by the host group, Menhir Qala Folk Group,  the “Ite ad Joseph” Qala philharmonic band, and Ta’ Seguna Group, instrumental band, to give performances, which will be held in Qala, namely, St. Joseph’s Square, with the façade of the Parish Church serving as a backdrop, which will be professionally lit up for the occasion, as well as in the picturesque bay of Marsaskala, at Xatt is-Sajjied, in St. Julians and the capital of Gozo, Victoria.

A live exhibition of traditional artisan work will be set up on Sunday 19 at St. Joseph Square in Qala. This will include a vast array of local ‘artiġjanat’ such as lace making, canework, knitting, ganutell, stained glass, woodwork, stone decorating, palmwork (gummar), parchment and pottery, all increasing the awareness of the rich craft heritage of Gozo. Moreover, various unique local antiques found in households and passed on from generation to generation will also be on loan for the benefit of the public to admire and appreciate the elaborate toil put into such masterful crafts. A local gastronomy section will provide typical Gozitan food and wine, which will give the visiting tourists a taste of our local fare.

An interesting feature, is of the festival is the re-enactment of It-Tieg fl-Antik (a traditional Gozitan/Maltese wedding), which will held on Sunday 19 September. It starts from Isqof Mikiel Buttigieg Square, and continues in a procession under the Baldakkin towards the main square, where the wedding concluds with a small ‘festin’, serving traditional sweet delicacies of the period. Most of the actors including children, youths and the older generation who participate are mainkly from the village of Qala, thus involving most of the local community to participate in some way or another.

For the third consecutive year, a sub-committee headed by Mr. Euchar Mizzi will organize a half day conference, which this year, will be held in the new conference facilities, of the Qala Local Council. This year’s theme is “Gozo Heritage in Stone”, and will be held on Saturday 18 in the morning, with the participation of the foreign visiting groups, as well as three main speakers, who will present papers and visuals relating to the subject.

This relatively slow weekend was mostly chosen for this event in order for it to serve as an added attraction for Maltese and foreign tourists visiting the island of Gozo. This aspect helps us, the Organising committee, to benefit from the Gozo Attractions Incentive Scheme. The QIFF was also eligible for Chris Said funds through a programme promoting cultural exchanges. Various sponsors will also contribute in kind, to help make this festival a success story.

Mr. Paul Buttigieg, the Mayor of Qala, insists that the main aim of this festival is to expose old practices and folkloristic traditions connected both with the locality of Qala as well as with the island of Gozo. It also helps demonstrate the commitment of this locality in cultural as well as in infrastructural aspects. The involvement of the community, in such events, ensures that the inherited typical traditions are kept alive and passed on to future generations.

Rose Grima

Secretary – Organising Committee

Qala International Folk Festival

Menhir Qala Folk Group Fact sheet

The Menhir Qala Folk Group

The Menhir Qala Folk Group, was originally set up to promote the local traditions and culture of the Gozitan and Maltese folklore, with special reference to the village of Qala and its history. The Qala Local Council offered all its means and manpower to sustain the conception and growth of this folk group. The first official group inauguration took place on the 18th September 2004 in Ġnien il-Familja where a traditional Maltese night was organized with full co-operation of the Qala Local Council involving the participation of all the members of the group; the repertoire being several traditional Maltese dances and songs. Since its formation in 2003, the Menhir Qala Folk Group has participated in various local, national and international events and activities; mostly those organized by other local councils both in Malta and Gozo.

It is worth mentioning here, that the first invitation abroad was to Porto Roz in Slovenia in July 2005 for the Val Piran International Folklore Festival where the group was representing the Maltese Islands amongst other foreign groups such as those from Portugal, Italy and of course Slovenia.

Since then, the group has participated in other Folk Festivals, held in Lanciano, Italy, Serbia, Czech Republic and Lefkada, Greece. For the near future the group is being enlarged with the involvement of four male dancers. Traditional costumes are worn and tools are used during the dances and songs to provide a better picture to the audience especially for tourists when performing locally and also when participating in international events abroad.

With great success our folk group, in collaboration with the Qala Local Council has organised the Qala International Folk Festival, which this year will be the 6^th edition since its inception. This folk festival is the only international folk festival held on the island of Gozo and it is very much anticipated by both the local communities and the tourists visiting the island at the time. Folk groups from abroad who have so far participated in this event hail from countries such as, Slovenia, Serbia, Portugal, Italy, Bulgaria, Sicily and Slovakia to name but a few. During this festival the Menhir Qala Folk Group are responsible in the re-enactment of a traditional Maltese wedding. Another event held during the festival is a half day conference covering a different subject related with our customs and culture. For this conference, even the foreign groups attending the festival, participate.

The Menhir Qala Folk Group has recently acquired premises in the village of Qala, which used to be the old police station and which eventually, with the assistance of the Local Council, these premises will be transformed into a folklore museum, and obviously will be the headquarters for the Menhir group.

The Menhir Qala Folk Group committee is made up of 7 members and the president is Mr Paul Buttigieg, Mayor of Qala Local Council. These committee meetings are held in the Qala Local Council premises. For any information about the Menhir Qala Folk Group please contact Rose Grima on mobile (+356) 7953 9047 or Charlie Sacco on mobile (+356) 9940 7166.