Various Events Until the 14th
Over 2,600 Participants from 8 Countries
The 'Powerful Daegu Festival,' a representative citizen cultural festival of Daegu, will be held. Starting with the eve event on the afternoon of the 12th, it will be vibrantly held for two days from the 13th to the 14th on Gukchaebosang-ro, the central street of Daegu.
The 2023 Powerful Daegu Festival, which adopted the slogan 'SinnandAY, HimnandAY' containing Daegu dialect with the hope of becoming an exciting and energizing festival through a citizen contest held last March, has been hosted by Daegu City since 2010. From this year, it is hosted by the Daegu Federation of Arts & Culture Organizations, a private organization, and sponsored by Daegu City.
Including the 2·28 Central Park, from Jungang Intersection to Gongpyeong Intersection, a car-free street will be set up for 48 hours, creating a Street Culture Zone and Enjoy Zone filled with diverse programs such as the Powerful Daegu Parade, Street Culture Festival, Citizen Cultural Festival, Festival Ceremony, and side events.
With participation from 82 teams across 8 countries and over 2,600 people, the Powerful Daegu Parade, which has grown into a global cultural festival, is the most notable content. Since the first citizen parade was held in 2012 at the Colorful Festival to create a killer content, this year marks the 10th edition, making it the largest street parade in the nation.
The competition parade, with a total prize of 150 million KRW, and the non-competition parade, where citizens, institutions, and organizations can meet citizens without format restrictions, will be held along a 270-meter section from Gukchaebosang-ro Jungang Intersection to in front of the 2·28 Memorial Central Park.
The non-competition parade includes family-participation teams that gained attention last year, the 50th Division Military Band, Daegu-ro Family, the 4-Minute Miracle Life Protectors, Safety Culture Practice Promotion Team, Kyungpook National University Student Ambassadors, various institutions, intangible cultural heritage groups such as Gosan Nongak and Uksu Nongak Preservation Societies, cultural organizations affiliated with Jeju Federation of Arts & Culture Organizations and Daegu Federation of Arts & Culture Organizations, as well as overseas participants from Japan, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Filipino community. Gunwi County, which will be incorporated into Daegu City in July, will also participate in the parade and promotion zone to meet Daegu citizens.
The competition parade, divided into four parts: General, Children & Youth, Silver, and Overseas Multicultural, will feature a total of 52 teams from overseas countries including the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the United States, China, and Japan, as well as domestic teams, performing dazzling performances across three sections. Spectacular performances will include colorful costumes from various countries and teams, traditional arts such as Daegu intangible cultural heritage Nalmoe Bukchum (drum dance), Taekwondo, cheerleading, acrobatics, dance, and samba.
In particular, overseas participating teams also play a significant role as diplomatic envoys. Overseas teams visiting with parade and performance groups will be accompanied by mayors, governors, and cultural envoys, creating opportunities to activate international exchanges not only with the Daegu Federation of Arts & Culture Organizations but also between local governments.
Including parade participants, about 280 people from six countries visiting for cultural exchange through exhibitions and performances will perform at various local sites such as Suseong Lake, Duryu Park, Apsan Park, Itaewon Street, and also at the Dongsung-ro Festival.
The Street Culture Festival is also richly prepared. It consists of the Citizen Cultural Festival and the Street Culture Festival, with a considerable scale. Except for the 7 hours during which the parade takes place over two days, the Street Culture Festival will be held simultaneously in five sections (A to E) from 1 PM to 2 AM on Saturday and from midnight to 10 PM on Sunday, featuring over 80 professional performing artists from home and abroad, totaling more than 1,000 participants.
The Powerful Music Show on the 13th will feature EDM artists, including 'ZENTA' and 'HYUN,' official ambassadors of the Vector Festival and Daegu's first global DJ artists actively performing both domestically and internationally. On the 14th, Daegu's representative rock band 'Band Africa' and its vocalist 'Yoon Sung,' who was recognized as a top vocalist by finishing in the top 3 on Singer Gain 2 and winning the Immortal Songs competition, will perform together.
The Late Night Cultural Festival will be held from 10 PM on Saturday night to 2 AM the next day, offering a romantic late-night concert and film festival in the city streets. It will feature pop, ballad, jazz, and classical performances with minimized sound for a romantic atmosphere, as well as seven carefully selected independent films presented by the Daegu Video Media Center. The Late Night Cultural Festival will also provide seating for a road picnic, allowing attendees to comfortably enjoy performances and films.
The only citizen participation program among the Street Culture Festival programs is the Citizen Art Competition, a small festival within the festival. It is operated by the Daegu Entertainers and Artists Association and Daegu Dance Group.
In section A, which consists of music performances for the Street Art Festival, Vocal Fighters and Trot Fighters will compete in a citizen contest format over two days. In section C, which consists of dance performances, Street Dance Fighters and K-pop Dance Fighters will also compete in a citizen contest format.
Additionally, before the first competition parade starts on Saturday the 13th, the 'Rising Artist' program will spotlight emerging Daegu artists, featuring performances by three early-career artists in their early to mid-20s simultaneously in sections A, C, and E.
Furthermore, in the Daegu Arts Zone, about 40 representative architectural works by Ho Ji-min and Daegu architects will be exhibited. The Photographers Association will hold a national photo contest and citizen photo experience, the Flower Art Association will display large flower art pieces measuring 2 to 3 meters, and the Daegu Masters Council will exhibit masterpieces worth tens of millions of KRW. A master who served as the chairperson of the national judging committee will participate directly, offering calligraphy of family mottos and traditional kite-making experience programs. The Korean Tea Culture Federation will hold a Korean tea drinking campaign and tea ceremony experience, and the Beauty Association will offer face painting and makeup experience programs.
In the Food Zone, visitors can taste healthy food, local food, and handmade jams, bread, desserts, and beverages made by social economy enterprises using eco-friendly materials. The Promotion Zone will provide useful information and various experiences and souvenirs for Daegu citizens from the Daegu Cultural Arts Promotion Agency's Tourism Promotion Headquarters, Gunwi County Tourism, Cheongdo County Tourism, Fantasia Daegu Festa, the Organ Donation Movement Headquarters, the Hometown Love Donation System, and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency.
In the Corporate Promotion Zone, robot companies will participate, exhibiting quadruped robots and robot baristas, and visitors can enjoy various foods and coffee prepared and sold directly by robots.
The Powerful Daegu Festival also marks the beginning of the spring season Fantasia Daegu Festa. At the eve event held in front of the old Daebak Department Store on the 12th, dazzling performances by overseas performance teams who arrived to celebrate the 2023 Fantasia Daegu Festa and the 2023 Powerful Daegu Festival will be held.
At the opening ceremony on the 13th, themed 'Flight, Light of Daegu's Future,' reflecting the future vision following the passage of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated New Airport Special Act, a 100-person citizen choir performance will declare the start of the Fantasia Daegu Festa.
Lee Chang-hwan, co-chairman of the festival and president of the hosting organization Daegu Federation of Arts & Culture Organizations, said, "We will make this a festival that considers our health and environment," and added, "Although it may be inconvenient, we hope everyone uses public transportation and brings tumblers to fully enjoy the festival."
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