LOVE SRI LANKA FESTIVAL 2024: A celebration of Sri Lanka

The Mother Lanka Foundation was successful in bringing back the Love Sri Lanka Festival, a popular annual event after a lapse of 4 years on two sweltering days in April, just before the new year, more than 60 home business owners set up stalls in matti halls and under the trees at Ape Gama, Battaramulla. 

The Love Sri Lanka festival conducted by Mother Sri Lanka is an event to promote Made in Sri Lanka products, ranging from food and beverage, clothing & fashion accessories, household products, arts and crafts, gift items and other items.  All participants in the event were the Sri Lankan Micro, Small and Medium (SMEs) enterprises who got an opportunity to showcase their products and increase sales during one of the heaviest shopping seasons in the year, prior to the Sinhala and Tamil new Year.

The offerings were diverse. Vendors sold clothes, batik, candles, bee honey, jewelry, ornaments and artworks. Nearly everything was homemade by the vendors themselves. The food and drinks side saw traditional Sri Lankan food, including a lady selling pol cake who was so successful that she ran out of inventory by 4pm, ‘hot hot kavum’, faludaand unusual innovations like Adhithya’s fried dell, manioc, and polos products.

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What is great about this concept is that the customer can have a closer relationship with the craftsperson or cook who makes the product. “The sausages are made on a small farm in Marawila” said the owner of Come to Mama’s hotdogs. “They have everything from Turkey to Quail to Rabbit meat”. It was also nice to chat with Kumari from Kumari’s Komarika (aloe vera drinks) which were a hit. “We have a small shop in Kalalgoda” she said. “Aloe vera has numerous health benefits, soothes gastritis and we are making a lot of sales during this hot weather”.

When you can see for yourself how the food is being prepared right in front of you, you can be more sure of its quality and wholesomeness, and you get to have a say in ways you can improve the product, or ask for custom orders.

The festival also showcased Sri Lanka’s performative and cultural heritage. Four teenage students came all the way from their village in Hambantota district to MC and facilitate the Avurudu games. Their school, Gonadeniya Maha Vidyalaya came first in Mother Sri Lanka’s RUN program last year. They were accompanied by their teacher, Mr. Prassanna who is highly involved in organizing community programs back home. They were joined by two students from Hindu College, Mutwal to MC in Tamil.

Festival goers weren’t shy to participate in the water balloon toss, kana mutti and eyeing the elephant, with prizes being given out to the winners. In Colombo, complete strangers taking part in kreeda isn’t something that happens everyday.

The children also announced the arrival of ‘Jasaya and Lenchina’ to the village, followed by ‘Salupaliya’ the yaka. These are performances where masked characters ‘barge’ their way into festivals and weddings accompanied by a drummer and clown with the audience, stopping to perform ‘kavi’ and dances.

DJ Paul provided and Magic Banda set the atmosphere for the event with a fusion of traditional Sri Lankan and foreign music catering to a diverse audience of young and old. At around 6 pm when the colourful lights were switched on, and the Mother Sri Lanka song was playing, and all around you people were enjoying themselves, it was easy to imagine that good times were ahead.