The festival will open on Friday at City Centre in Siliguri. According to ACT convener Raj Basu, this is the first time the event is being held across three locations.

City Centre will host cultural programmes throughout the festival, with folk artists from Nepal, Manipur, Sikkim and different parts of the region performing each day from 11am to 8pm. Visitors can also browse around 40 stalls featuring local handicrafts, tourism destinations and regional cuisine.

“The festival will begin with ‘Paddle with DHR’, in which around 100 cyclists will ride alongside the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway’s century-old toy train from Siliguri Junction to Rongtong station on Friday,” Basu said to The Telegraph Online.

Sport will be part of the festival as well. An exhibition football match will be played at a ground in Sukna, on the outskirts of Siliguri, with former East Bengal players taking on players from the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. Indian football legend Bhaichung Bhutia will serve as the festival’s Goodwill Ambassador. The match will also serve a charitable purpose, with funds raised for victims of the recent disaster in Nepal.

Darjeeling will take centre stage on Saturday with the ‘Quins Trail’, a heritage walk through the town. Beginning at Chowrasta (Mall), the walk will pass several heritage sites before concluding at Darjeeling railway station.

Meanwhile, Salesian College in Sonada will host a seminar focused on homestays and rural tourism. Tourism experts and other dignitaries are expected to attend the session.

With activities spread across three destinations, this year’s festival brings together the region’s cultural traditions, heritage and tourism interests under one event.

“The concluding ceremony will be held at a private banquet hall in Sukna, where seven women working in the fields of tourism promotion and nature conservation will be honoured for their contributions,” Basu added.