Namchi to host Red Ribbon Super Band semi-finals on 30 Jan

GANGTOK, 29 Jan: The semi-final of the Red Ribbon Super Band Competition will be held at Namchi Municipal Council Hall on 30 January from 10 AM onwards, informs a press release. Ten bands will battle it out for a place in the Grand Finale, to be held in Gangtok tentatively on 19 February.
The Red Ribbon Super Band Competition under the umbrella of ‘Red Fest’ is an initiative of Sikkim State AIDS Control Society to generate mass awareness about HIV & AIDS and ill effects of substance/drug abuse among the youth, and motivate behavior change, the release mentions. In this endeavor, SSACS has support from organizations like Serenity Home (Bethzatha Society), Recovering Users’ Network (RUN), Sikkim Network of Positive People and HOPE Foundation.

21 bands to rock it out in Red Ribbon Super Band quarters

GANGTOK, 19 Jan: The quarter final round of the Red Ribbon Super Band Contest is scheduled for 21 January from 10 a.m. onwards at the Tadong Government College Auditorium, informs a press release.
21 bands from all four Districts will battle it out for the semi-final berth. It may be recalled that the 21 bands were shortlisted from among 62 which auditioned at Namchi and Gangtok on 05, 08 and 09 January, 2012.
The ‘Red Ribbon Super Band’ Contest is part of the ‘Red Fest’, an initiative of Sikkim State AIDS Control Society to bring about mass awareness about HIV & AIDS and the ill-effects of substance/drug abuse.

21 bands make it to the Red Ribbon Super Band quarters

ANUSHA GURUNG
GANGTOK, 09 Jan: A total of 42 bands from East and North Sikkim turned out at the auditions of the ‘Red Ribbon Super Band Contest’ being held on 08 and 09 January here at Café Live & Loud. The event is being jointly organized by HOPE Foundation, RUN, SNP+, Serenity Home and Bethzatha under the aegis of Sikkim State AIDS Control Society [SSACS].
The audition had just two bands from North Sikkim while the rest were from East Sikkim. Likewise, 16 bands participated in the auditions held for South and West Sikkim on 05 January at Namchi.
The audition had a four-member panel of judges comprising of Donald Lepcha, Albert Gurung, Diwas Rai and Surja Solomon Rai. The list of bands selected for the quarter final round are as follows: Lazy Fingers, Damage Era, Eye Still, Juke Box, Wonder call, Don’t Mind, Funky Rain, Nightmares, Road House Invasion, Cacophony Caddy, Insynergee, Lightning Volt, Fluid Dream Escape, Death Squad, Fuzzy Logic, Demi Gods, Sardonics, Gravity, Neestar, Eldorado, and Nayan. The quarter final round will be held in Gangtok tentatively on 21January.
Speaking to NOW! SSACS Deputy Director [IEC], Raj Sharma, informed that Red Ribbon Super Band Contest is part of the SSACS’s RED FEST. He further informed that the RED FEST has three parts, in the first part of the RED FEST intervention, ‘Positive Intervention’ was conducted during the month of December involving school students. The second part is the ‘Red Five Open Football Tournament’ and third part is the Red Ribbon Super Band Contest.
Mr Sharma stated that the RED FEST has mainly targeted the youth to spread awareness on HIV & AIDS and the effects of substance abuse. He further added that this intervention is trying to spread the correct message on HIV/AIDS to clear the misinformation and misconception and also to eradicate the stigma and discrimination associated with the disease in the society. He also added that these programmes also try to encourage people to volunteer for blood donations.
“Many people know about HIV/AIDS, so now we are mainly looking at attitudinal and behavioral changes towards HIV/AIDS and at the same time encourage people to stay safe,” said Mr Sharma.