GILGIT: Traditional music coupled with cultural performances lit up the cold air as the seven-day Winter Feast 2023 was inaugurated at the frozen Attabad lake on Sunday.

The sports event will feature competitions of ice hockey, ice football, ice skating and other local games. A grand cultural show and performances will also be included in the event.

Over 300 male and female athletes from 10 districts of the region took part in the competitions.

According to officials, it is the first winter sports festival organised in Attabad amid snowfall. Earlier, winter sports competitions were held in Skardu, Hunza, Nagar, Ghizer, Ghanche, Shigar, Diamer and Astore.

Teams were selected from each district that will be participating in this event.

Officials said all winter sports from across Gilgit-Baltistan would be featured in the event for which an ice rink was prepared.

Officials, tourists and a large number of local people participated in the inaugural ceremony. Athletes, artists, local elders, youth performed cultural dances on traditional music. Local artists presented their art in the ceremony and everyone enjoyed a friendly match between the ice hockey teams.

The ice rink was decorated with lights upon which players performed ice skating. Force Commander Maj Gen Kashif Khalil was chief guest at the occasion.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2023