AMMAN - For the third time in over 27 years, the world-renowned Jerash Festival will be largely absent from the Kingdom's cultural activities season, which will kick off in July, to come back in 2009 in a new shape, Culture Minister Nancy Bakir said on Thursday.
The festival has been cancelled twice in its history: the first was in 1982 during the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon and in 2006, due to the escalating conflict and humanitarian crisis in Lebanon.
Bad seasons the national event has seen since 2003, Bakir told a press conference, prompted the government to revisit the event and carry out a "comprehensive study" in order to address all challenges facing this cultural festivity, which has become a Jordan signature worldwide.
Countering "misinterpretation" by the local media of a recent controversial decision to hold Jerash Festival as only one component of the larger Jordan Festival, Bakir insisted the government had no intention to abolish the festival, which over the years has hosted an array of artists, troupes, poets and other participants from around the world, attracting an equally diversified audience.
The Jordan Festival will only serve as an umbrella for all summer cultural activities in various parts of the country, including the 27-year-old Jerash Festival, the minister explained.
But "due to the shortage of time", cultural activities to be held in Jerash this season will be minimal, as part of what she called "edition zero" of Jordan Festival.
"There will be no Jerash Festival this year, but cultural activities and musical concerts will be performed in the ancient city as part of the Jordan Festival's concept," she explained.
For her part, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Maha Khatib, who joined Bakir at the presser, said the Jordan Festival will include other town-based cultural and entertainment events such as Fuheis, Zarqa and Azraq festivals.
Jordan Festival staff, she said, will be coordinating the timetable of these events to ensure their schedules will not clash with each other.
Khatib revealed that the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has completed its tourism programme "Family Days", which aims to encourage internal tourism and will be affordable for medium- and low-income segments.
Jordanians will only have to pay for transportation because they will have free entry to the events included in the programme, which will first be held in three northern governorates - Ajloun, Jerash and Irbid - "due to their fair summer weather", according to the official.
The "Family Days" will include folkloric concerts, handicrafts exhibitions, band performances as well as camping and other activities, she added.
The officials said the Jordan Festival promotion campaign would start within few days, noting that the publicity efforts will be carried out by the Ministry of Culture in cooperation with the private sector.
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