It seems there is no going away from the Cavelossim Beach for GoaFest organisers, which has been the usual home for the fest. A month back, there was the announcement of shift of the venue to the Utorda Beach with much fanfare. The intention behind this was to cater to the need this year of the fest which promises to be bigger and a new destination seemed apt for it.

So it was a bit baffling to get an official communiqué that stated, “The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club Bombay (ACB) have announced GoaFest 2010. GoaFest, now in its fifth year, is India’s most prestigious advertising and communications festival. This year, the event is aptly themed ‘Survival of the Freshest’. The extravaganza will be held at Cavelossim Beach, South Goa, over three eventful days (April 8-10).”

To get to the core of the matter, we spoke to Colvyn Harris, Chairman, GoaFest 2010 and CEO, JWT. He said, “We are looking at a much larger dimension to the festival this year, but the Utorda Beach has some constrains on these factors. The Cavelossim Beach provides more flexibility, like in having installations that are part of the fest. In the interest of the festival and the fraternity, we have decided to stick to the venue that we have used for prior fests.”

When asked, whether these constrains were not factored in when deciding on Utorda Beach in the first place and also whether the change would inconvenience people who had made prior bookings, Harris said, “We were trying to work out the various dimensions, but at the end it didn’t work, hence we decided to stick to Cavelossim. As for bookings, even we have made them, but this is in the interest of the fest. Also, there is still time for the fest, so it’s not really last minute.”

Starting today, there will be official communication on the final venue of GoaFest 2010.

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GoaFest 2010: Ad frat looking forward to celebrating creativity at a new venue