Covelong Point Festival Held In Chennai Draws More Than 20000 People
For aficionados of Surfing, Music and Yoga, it could have hardly got any better. The Covelong Point Surf, Music and Yoga Festival was held this year, August 23 to 25 at Kovalam, a sleepy fishing hamlet on the picturesque Chennai coast.
The seventh edition of the event brought together national and international surfers for a three-day competition, alongside yoga modules conducted by renowned yoga instructors from across the world.
But the icing on the cake was a fascinating line-up of eclectic music, featuring artists from across India and the globe.
“The Festival was conceptualized to promote the sport of surfing and stand up paddle in India, spread the message of importance of good health and wellness, provide a platform for India’s artists to showcase their works, promote cultural tourism and facilitate social change for the better,” said Arun Vasu, Promoter, Covelong Point Surf, Music and Yoga Festival.
Jonty Rhodes, the world-famous South African former cricketer, was the festival’s Brand Ambassador, and was present at the venue throughout the weekend. Speaking on the occasion, Jonty said, “India with its thousands of kilometres of shoreline and beaches is a natural haven for pursuing surfing as a sport. It is only a matter of time before we see surfing champions emerge from this country. The fact that surfing has emerged as one of the disciplines for the next Olympics augurs well for this sport and will soon gain larger acceptance across the world.”
This biggest and only one of its kind Festival of Surf, Music, And Yoga, featured a full-fledged carnival area with over 50 stalls showcasing unique products and specially-curated food stalls and trucks.
Over 20,000 visitors reveled at the event over the course of the weekend.
Surfing Competition, 2019
Surfing, as a sport, has gained prominence globally with its recent entry into the Olympics. The National Surfing Challenge took place, where 200 of the best surfers in the country competed and identified some surfing experts for India to participate in surfing at future Olympic events.
Also, this year the event featured the RAST (REnextop Asian Surfing Tour). Top surfers from all over Asia took part in this year’s challenge.
Music Festival
Carmen Rizzo, a two-time Grammy Nominee performed at the Festival. This world-famous producer, mixer, programmer, DJ and recording artist based in Los Angeles, California, has worked with artists such as Seal, Coldplay, Paul Oakenfold, and Alanis Morissette, among others.
The main stage music show featured 3 international bands/artists – Blind Suns (France), Nadav Dagon (Israel) and Yogev Haruvi (Israel), and five prominent Indian Bands – Lagori, Mosko, Lady Kash, The Sylvester Trio and Non-Violinist Project all of whom enthralled the crowd and had them asking for more.
The second smaller stage featured up-and-coming artists from AR Rahman’s KM Conversatory and other local talents.
Yoga
The festival this year featured four different Yoga Shalas, with eight different sessions in each of the Shalas making it one of the biggest yoga events in the country. The highlight of this year’s yoga workshops was that the sessions were carefully curated to offer a wide variety that has never been done at any one event.
Sponsors
The TT Group was the title sponsor for this seventh edition of the Festival. The TT Group also showcased their trademark surf café at Kovalam, Surf Turf, as well as the newly-opened Mahabalipuram Cafe.
The Festival also has on board Cult Fit, Radiance Realty, Vidiem, Go Pro, Red Bull, Oakley, CUB Bank, NIPPO, Chola, Chettinad Academy, Workafella and Martin Charitable Trust.
