Chargé d' Affaires a.i. of Sri Lanka Embassy and Permanent Mission in Vienna, Irosha cooray attended as the Chief Guest of the Cultural evening organized by the Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka for Styria and Carinthia, Edith Horning on the occasion of Sinhala and Tamil New Year on 26 April 2019. This event was organized with an objective of raising funds for children development aid in Sri Lanka. The Honorary Consuls based in Graz, Austria and other dignitaries in Graz had been invited for the event.
During the event, one-minute silence was observed for the victims of the Easter Sunday attack in Sri Lanka. Chargé d' Affaires a.i. in her speech outlined the importance of organizing an event to showcase Sri Lanka’s cultural identity to an international audience.
A colorful fashion show by artist and designer, Sonali Dharmawardena was staged. Experimenting with new technologies and innovations in Sri Lanka’s fabric industry, adding more value and texture to the fabric created using traditional Sri Lankan batik methodology, Sonali presented internationally coveted creations exclusively in a colorful fashion show. The audience enjoyed the portrayal of Sri Lankan batic fashion designs by the European models. The Girardi Quartett Graz and the De Lanerolle Brothers performed together for the first time and took the audience on a multicultural journey through musical entertainment.
Sri Lankan and Austrian culinary delights were served to the gathering. All proceedings of the event will be contributed in favor of ALOKA Children development aid in Sri Lanka.
