This post documents my experience on September 15, 2012.
Festivals can take place downtown, at a church, park…
…or even a middle school…
…where the gym can magically be transformed…
…into India Festival USA.
Set up with table booths all around the gym…
…vendor tables sold gifts that included jewelry…
…garments…
…books (religious and children)…
…and plenty of films…
…while other vendors provided services in immigration law (Herman)…
…or immigrant entrepreneurship (TIE).
Interestingly enough, many of the vendors were actually non-profit organizations created to help the world….
…by either serving humanity (SEVA)…
…bringing socio-economic change through education (ASHA)…
…or helping people overcome stress (The Art of Living).
For kids, the stress factor was easily managed…
…thanks to the Kids Corner…
…where there was face-painting (Faces and Fun)…
…henna…
…a Wii…
…and even robot demonstrations…
…presented on this table by the Young Innovators’ Society.
As at many festivals, I took comfort in the cafeteria…
…where food was offered by the Saffron Patch and Priya…
…and I got this tasty grub from the latter (Popidi mix and vada pav).
But there was more than just eating going on…
…groups were preparing for the talent contest in the gym…
…and it was so popular that vendors even left their tables to watch…
…and for good reason.
It was awesome!