Ħal Kirkop Local Council will be organising Irkottafest 2014, a cultural event aimed to recall memories of the rural past of the village. This event will be held on Sunday, 11th May, 2014 from 10.00am onwards. Event will take place along Triq San Benedittu, Misraħ Ħal Kirkop and Misraħ San Leonardu. Further information can be obtained from www.halkirkop.com or by contacting us on kirkop.lc@gov.mt or 21680099.
Detailed description: A cultural event aimed to recall memories of the rural past of the village. Ħal Kirkop, a village in the South of Malta is extensively remembered for the tradition of IRKOTTA making. For four consecutive years, the Ħal Kirkop Local Council succeeded to bring back to life, long forgotten crafts and works done by our ancestors for their living. Ħal Kirkop Local Council believes that through these cultural activities, the past of the village will be known by all those who visit this quite locality. Although Ħal Kirkop is small in size it has so much to offer. This is truly illustrated in the village motto ‘Parva non Iners’ which means ‘small but not empty’. Ħal Kirkop Local Council will be the main organiser of this event with the participation of local non governmental organisations. Local NGOs will be invited to demonstrate their talents and works done for the community through their members who work willingly on voluntary basis.
Main activities will include: Exhibition of Cattle – An exhibition of herds of dairy cattle will be held in the core of the village. This will lead to further knowledge of the cattle, the milking process and various husbandry practices. Production of Irkotta – Apart from the cattle exhibition (which is the starting process of irkotta making when milking is done), there will be a demonstration of how irkotta was made in early days. Village residents, who still make irkotta daily, will show the public the traditional way of irkotta making. Those present can benefit from free tasting of freshly made irkotta. They can also try their own irkotta at home after grabbing a recipe from the info stand. Food Stands – Irkottafest would not be complete if this important ingredient ‘IRKOTTA’ is not used to enrich various traditional Maltese dishes. Food stalls will exhibit and sell products prepared with irkotta such as – qassatat, pastizzi, torti, soppa tal-armla, kosksu, ravjul, kannoli, cassatella and other delicious cuisine. Entertainment – Ħal Kirkop Local Council will enrich this festa by a variety of entertainment, comprising of maltese folklore and traditional music. Local talent, band marches, as well as the drama group, will be participating to make this event exceptional. Both youth and elderly will contribute towards this cultural activity.
Ħal Kirkop Local Council will also seek participation of national authorities/bodies which all contribute to the rural sector of Malta namely the Ministry for Tourism, Malta Tourism Authority, Institute of Tourism Studies, Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change and other Environmental NGOs. Local irkotta producers will be invited to set up stands in order to expose their services at large to the community. This cultural activity will be held on Sunday, 11th May, 2014 from 10.00am onwards along Triq San Benedittu, Misraħ Ħal Kirkop and Misraħ San Leonardu. The aim of this event is to shed light on the past traditional making of Irkotta as in contrast with its present modern production. Surley a not to be missed event!
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