If you are visiting Coimbatore anytime between January 3 and January 12, don’t be surprised if there are colours and festivities all around you. The enterprising city of Coimbatore is gearing up to celebrate as the 12th edition of the annual Coimbatore Vizha (Coimbatore Festival) is round the corner.
The Coimbatore Vizha is an annual event which aims to nurture and celebrate the uniqueness of the city — the food, the culture, the hospitality, the art, the business acumen etc. While the Vizha this year has all the usual events like the cultural event parade and the vintage vehicle display lined up, the 12th edition, headed by Vizha Chairman Supraj Venkat, also has some new additions to it.
One of the most exciting additions this year is ‘The Pitch’, which is an opportunity for Coimbatore-based entrepreneurs to win some capital for their business. ‘The Pitch’ is being organised in collaboration with incubation centres in PSG College of Technology, Kongu Engineering College and Native Angel Network (NAN) and has 130 applications from entrepreneurs so far.
Speaking to TNM about this, Praveen Kumar, the Chairman of Young Indians which co-organises the annual event says that the idea is to encourage businesses and entrepreneurs from the city. “Coimbatore is known as an enterprising city and is home to many industries. We have some big investors like Sequoia Capital and other venture capital firms that are waiting to pick the best business ideas to invest in,” he said.
The event will take place in PSG Institute of Management on January 11, where three business ideas will be shortlisted after three rounds of pitching.
Another new addition to this year’s festival is the Royal Boat Show which is scheduled to take place in the Kurichi Lake on January 4 and 5. The event, which is held in partnership with Royal Madras Yacht Club and Indian Navy will be a sail show with 10 yachts brought in from Kochi and Chennai.
“The idea is to kindle interest in sailing among the people of Coimbatore. Coimbatore has a Naval base Agrani and we wanted to spark the joy of sailing among the people here,” Praveen says. Adding that the sail show will take place between 10.30 am and 5 pm on the said days with an Audio-Visual screening about the nuances of sailing, Praveen said that in future, the plan is to set up a centre to teach sailing and bring up Olympic-level sailors from the city.
The Vizha, this year, also has provided a platform to people from 10 tribal hamlets from around the city to display their produce and sell them in stalls. The tribal communities will also be performing their traditional songs and dances in Brookefields Mall on January 11 and 12.
Source: The News Minute