Austria to hold water-themed festival

The access to and use of water will be the central theme of the upcoming "Walser Fall" festival in western Austria, organizers said. The event, which has been held in the Great Walser Valley in Vorarlberg since 2008, will kick off on August 21 and last for one month, local media reported. This year the festival will be headed by Dietmar Nigsch and will feature Gerold Amann's "Vanuatu Water Music" and theater programs, according to the reports. "Since water and its uses shape the cultural landscape, it follows that there are various facets and avenues with which to grapple with it," Nigsch said regarding the festival theme. The event will also feature music duo Klezmer Reloaded, Russian hornist Arkady Shilkloper and U.S. tubist Jon Sass, and film and documentary screenings are also scheduled. During the festival, local communities normally present workshops, music, films, exhibitions and cuisine under the slogan "the steepest festival in the middle of the mountains."