Bhubaneswar/Victoria: A three-day cultural extravaganza organised by the Odia community in Australia will kick start tomorrow at Kyneton, Victoria.

The 9th National Sammilani will showcase Odia art, culture and traditions. This year the team has invited Ollywood actor Kuna Tripathy as a special guest. There will also be numerous team building activities such as kayaking, flying fox and other sports inculcating a sense of team spirit, trust and respect for each other. Keeping in mind the Odia obsession with good food, a special cook has been engaged to recreate popular Odia dishes giving everyone a taste of nostalgia.

The Odia community of Australia will be meeting again after two years keeping the tradition strong for the new generations to follow. Orioz Inc, the Association of Odia people in Australia, began this tradition of organising national gathering every second year with the aim of fostering and strengthening the bond between Odia people who call Australia home, temporarily or permanently. These biennial national gatherings are called Sammilanis, with a name given to each one with the theme. The name of the 9th Sammilani to be held this year in Kyneton, Victoria is 'Unmaad'.

Like the previous Sammilanis, members from almost all Australian states like Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory - Canberra, New South Wales and Queensland will be attending the event. The community will also be celebrating Utkala Dibasa on April 1. The regional Victorian town of Kyneton, an hour drive from Melbourne is all set to turn to an Odia town for these three days.

The Odia community of Australia are very proud for investing in building a single Odia community in a large country such as Australia and the biennial national Sammilani is a great way to strengthen this brotherhood, Sujeet Jena, President of Orioz said.