Folk Percussion And Sand Sculpting Added To School Kalai Thiruvizha Arts Festival

CHENNAI — The Tamil Nadu school education department has announced the introduction of traditional arts and music contests, including folk-percussion and sand sculpting, for the upcoming fourth edition of the state-wide 'Kalai Thiruvizha' arts festival. The festival, reported from Chennai, is scheduled to run from July to October for the 2026-27 academic year.

The event is designed for students from Classes I to XII in government and aided schools. This year, the festival will feature a total of 105 competitions spread across five distinct stages, which progress from the school level to block, zonal, district, and ultimately state-level contests.

According to an official release from the school education department, the festival serves as a platform to showcase student talents in traditional folk arts, music, dance, visual arts, and drama. Since its inception in 2022, the festival has been conducted annually, running separate competition tracks for government school students and aided school students across all classes.

The competition categories are tailored to different age groups. For younger students in Classes I to V, the events will include storytelling, rhyme recitation, clay modelling, and fancy dress competitions.

For older students in Classes VI to XII, the contests will involve more specialized traditional arts. These include puppet shows, carving, cartooning, pot-painting, and music storytelling. Students in these higher categories will also compete in events featuring traditional percussion and classical instruments, such as the villupattu, parai, pambai, and nadaswaram.

The festival accommodates both individual and group contests. Participants will receive recognition and be felicitated at each stage of the competition. Students who achieve top positions on the final state-level list will also receive the opportunity to participate in educational tours.