Bhubaneswar, Feb. 15: Interactive sessions with prominent cultural personalities and workshops honing the creative pursuits of children marked the two-day festival called Rainbow that concluded at the Adivasi Ground in the city today.

Around 600 children, including differently-abled kids, from various childcare institutions and special schools across the30 districts of the state took part in the festival. They danced and laughed with comedian Kuna Tripathy and singer Ratikant Satpathy, who shared anecdotes of their experiences from life.

The kids bombarded the artistes with questions ranging from the importance of education to the steps they would have taken to improve the condition of children at special homes if they were administrators.

'I have seen them on television but never thought that I would be able to interact with them face-to-face. I had a great time,' said Munni Dehury, a participant from Dhenkanal district.

The little stars also grooved to the beats of differently-abled dancer Harihar Deo, who performed to foot-tapping Bollywood numbers along with his troupe.

'The children were very enthusiastic and learnt the steps fast. Such platforms go a long way in boosting the confidence of the children,' said Deo.

The participants also honed their creative skills at an array of workshops held on terracotta, pottery, contemporary dance, paper craft, pot painting and soft toys.

For the children, the experience was quite enriching. 'I am extremely fond of ceramics but never got an opportunity to learn the art of making the same. Here I made pots of different shapes and got an overview of the entire procedure. It was fun,' said Pritish Behera, another participant from Ganjam district.

A number of competitions on essay writing, debate, song, dance and painting was also conducted. That apart, Nila Madhab Panda's film Jalpari was also screened.

Organised by Odisha State Child Protection Society, under the aegis of the women and child development department of the state government, the festival aimed at providing the children from special schools an opportunity to learn new skills through workshops and intermingle with noted artistes and youth icons. At present, there are around 319 childcare homes in the state.