The Malabar River Festival (MRF) is set to pump in adrenaline into the sleepy hillside villages of Kozhikode. The seventh edition of the festival that features ‘The Malabar World Kayak Championship’ will be held from July 26 to 28 on the Iruvazhinji and Chalippuzha rivers.
The event is being organised by the Tourism Department under the aegis of the Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society and the Kozhikode District Tourism Promotion Council. Madras Fun Tools will offer technical support.
Over the past seven seasons, the festival has become so big that French magazine Kayak Session has named it one of the top five whitewater kayak festivals in the world.
“We expect more than 15 international kayakers, including current and former world champions, to compete in the championship,” says Manesh Bhaskar, Chief Executive Officer of KATPS.
Besides them, more than 75 Indian kayakers are competing in male and female categories.
In three categories
The competition will be held in three categories – Extreme Race, Boater Cross, and Giant Slalom.
There will also be categories for intermediate kayakers and professionals. The championship has a prize money of ₹10 lakh.
The festival is noted for its crowd involvement. People had thronged the Elanthakkadavu bridge at Pulloorampara to watch the finals of the sixth edition of the championship. Kerala Tourism expects an audience of over 35,000 and a worldwide reach of two million through live streaming of the event on YouTube and Facebook.
Kodencheri and Pulloorampara, the two hillside villages hosting the event, were ravaged in the landslips and floods last year.