The Great Indian October Fest is just around the corner once again. With beer, music, food and much more, the festival is all set to be full of fun.

Metrolife caught up with Vilas and Arun, Directors of Common Colors, the company which organises The Great Indian October Fest, to check out what’s in store for Bangaloreans this year.

The first and most impressive thing about the fest is going to be the space - spread over 24 acres, they will be occupying space in Palace grounds, right from Gayathri Vihar entrance to the Freeway 19. “The entire premises will be decked up with a lot of structures which will be given special lighting. We are even building a cloth castle right at the end!” says Vilas.

The highlights

The festival has a few major segments - music, games, shopping, cars, food, movies and of course beer! For the music angle, they have the finals of the Kingfisher Bangalore Rocks which will be held during these two days.

There are 12 bands which will be performing live on stage and battling it out. Before these bands performs there will be local bands performing like Caesar’s Palace, Thermal and a Quarter and Amit Heri’s group.

Each day after the bands have finished, international DJs will take over around 9 pm and play on till the end of the day’s activities. The cars are another major attraction for the festival this year.

The organisers have roped in the Bangalore Beetle Club who will display about 15 cars during the fest. “We have also got in an actual F1 car on display for the fest.

We are also coming up with something wherein there will be a simulation so people can see what it feels like to drive the car. Apart from that we also have a pitstop, where people can change the tyres and other activities so that they get a feel of the car” says Arun.

If cars don’t do it for you, there’s plenty of shopping as well! The fest will re-create a flea market with a row of stalls that will be put up. They have stalls from Goa and other cities apart from locals. There will also be a line-up of food stalls with a wide choice of food from chinese to pizza to vada pav!

There are also exciting games lined up the entire day. Says Arun, “We have roped in Mark Rego who will be conducting games during the fest. We will be giving away great prizes as well.

Apart from interactive games we even have a soccer penalty shoot out. So we have games lined up for the whole family!” A new aspect that has been introduced this year is the film festival.

They have tied up with Bangalore Film society and will be screening about six comedy films. Another new aspect is the art show which will happen over the weekend.

This will be an interactive art show wherein well known Bangalore artists will be painting at the fest. For people who wish to join in, they can bring their own canvas and sit beside their favourite artists and start painting!

These paintings will then be put up for sale, the proceeds of which will go to Dream a Dream Foundation.

In the end, for those of you who are in it for the beer, the organisers say you will not be disappointed. Says Arun, “We are getting beer straight from the brewery and so you will not find beer more fresh than this anywhere in the City.”

But Arun says that they are trying their best to reinstate the fact that they are not throwing a huge party. “In parties, people come in, drink, dance and leave. This is a fest, it’s more of a carnival. That’s why we have so many different activities lined up. So you can bring your kids and come spend the day at the festival. We are not this huge party for college kids to come and get drunk.”

The organisers say that most of the activities are in covered structures so rain will not be a problem.

They also promise ample parking space, hygenic toilets and security. The fest is on October 5, 6 and 7. Tickets for the fest are priced at Rs 200 and are available only at the venue. For further details log in to their website www.theoctoberfest.in.