Second national folk arts festival to be held in Sur 

(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) The second National Folk Arts Festival, to be held in Sur from October 14 to 16, will see 200 traditional Omani songs getting a technological boost. These songs have been recorded to be made available from iTunes for downloads. "On the second day of the festival, 200 traditional Omani songs will be made available via Apple stores for iPods to popularise them among the youth,'' said Saeed Sultan al Busaidi, head of traditional art, Ministry of Heritage and Culture (MoHC).The first edition of this biennial festival was held in Muscat in 2010 on the Royal Directives of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. The main attraction of this year's festival will be a competition in three dance forms. The winner will be given RO5,000, he said.''People from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will take part in the festival along with Omani artistes and scholars. There will be seminars to explore ways to revive traditional arts in Oman. One of the lectures is dedicated to traditional customs in the arts. The Minister of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources and Governor of Muscat will be the chief guests,'' Busaidi said.Talking about the challenges facing traditional art forms in Oman, he said, ''Urban lifestyle and separation of artistes in the regions are threats to traditional art. Still there are many elderly people who can easily recollect folklore from their villages and towns. It would be better to approach them to preserve these art forms for the benefit of future generations.''