All good things come to an end...
After all the pomp and celebrations, everything in Ghajnsielem seems to go quiet again. But for weeks you will hear people saying: “Festa Suċċess” – and indeed it was! A special thanks goes to all the organizers including the Għaqda Armar, Għaqda tan-Nar, St Joseph Band, the Parish Clergy, the crew at Radju Lauretana, the Ghajnsielem.com team, the cleaners, the helpers and the many other people who were involved in the feast preparations.

Life in the parish will now take a slower pace as children start preparing for school and our emigrants head back to their respective countries.

Radju Lauretana ends Feast transmission
The festa schedule is over. Transmission started on Sunday 3rd August and stopped on Tuesday 2nd September. These 31 days of schedule which included live transmissions and updates again proved to be a great success. New for this year was the introduction of a studio webcam steaming live video via radjulauretana.com.

Worth mentioning
On Sunday 24th August, the St Joseph Band Club opened its doors to the public during an Open Day activity which included exhibitions, military vehicles show, drills and talent shows. It is also worth mentioning the visit by his Excellency the President of Malta Dr. Edward Fenech Adami on Tuesday 26th August as the St. Joseph Band performed its annual Instrumental Concert in the main square. The President had the opportunity to visit the St Joseph Band Club premises and Radju Lauretana's studios

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Ghajnsielem.com registers 47,485 hits in 7 days!
The 2008 Feast was also proved to be a record breaking year for Ghajnsielem.com as it registered 47,485 hits during the 7 days of celebrations. It also recorded 6114 unique visitors meaning that each visitor on average logged/visited 8 times.

The figures do not stop here. 2100 photos were published (compared to 1400 photos in 2007 and 350 photos in 2006). The addition of several video clips with the main highlights proved popular among the emigrants. This can be confirmed with the positive feedback from the guestbook postings. Ghajnsielem.com has also printed a set of t-shirts with the website's logo and featuring the words 'Viva x-Xemx'.

The Ghajnsielem.com t-shirts proved very popular

Ghajnsielem.com has recently launched a newly designed Feast Section which will definitely prove popular with all feast enthusiasts.

Radju Lauretana was also very popular with the net surfers. Its website registered 8937 visits between 3rd August and 2nd September - an average of 288 visits per day.
 

A spiritual dimension
The Feast of Our Lady of Loreto is well known for its euphoric celebrations especially on Friday's 'Marċ tal-Balzunetta' when the revellers dance and sing as the 'Viva x-Xemx' and 'Ta Gerew' are played. However the feast as a Christian festivity has also a spiritual dimension. In order to find a balance between material and spiritual activities, a Marian vigil of prayers was held in the main square which for the third consecutive year proved to be a success. The beautiful liturgy, the novena and the triduum were also well attended.

The traditional 'Marċ tal-Għeluq'
Altough the Ghajnselmizi actively participated in all external activities, the traditional 'Marċ tal-Għeluq' which starts at 11.00pm seems to be dying a slow death. During the last 4-5 years, the number of revellers participating in this band march seems to be diminishing. The feast committee should analyze the consequences with all parties involved in order to revive this tradition which is after all part of Ghajnsielem's tradition.
 

Bright future
If you watch the photos and the video clip covering the BBQ at 'Fuq il-Ghajn' (open article) you will immediately notice a young generation of Feast enthusiasts. Several youths are joining the Ghaqda Armar and the love for fireworks never seems to fade. This year, four new students joined the St Joseph Band and within the next 18 - 24 months several other students are expected to graduate. Several youths also host a program on Radju Lauretana while others wrote interesting articles on the Feast Magazines. If these young children are guided through the right channels, the future of our Feast is certainly bright...

A dream coming true
After the triumphal re-entrance of the procession, Archpriest Frankie Bajada announced the order of the smallest five out of the eight bells. It is expected that these bells are delivered in 12 - 14 months time. Just 12 months ago this proved an impossible dream for the Ghajnselmizi but thanks to the generosity of many, the tower of the parish church may soon contain these delightful bells. These bells will definitely give voice to a culture, and indeed to a faith.

All in all this year's feast was a success!
Viva x-Xemx. Viva l-Madonna ta' Loreto.