THUNDER BAY - What began as a small three-hour gathering of more than 100 people at Lakehead University, the Festival of India and the Festival of Colours has since grown in the last 10 years to become one of the city’s most anticipated summer events, and to celebrate that anniversary, organizers say this year it is going to be bigger than ever.
The Festival of India will be taking place on Saturday July 20 at 3 p.m. at Marina Park. Organizer, Prashant Jani, said this year will include more than 22 artists performing on the main stage, including dancers from Florida and California and musicians from Toronto and Calgary.
“The highlight of the whole festival is the Rajasthani dancers,” he said. “These are like snake charming dancers. In India, there is a community called snake charmers and they capture the snake by charming the snake with music and dance.”
The Festival will also include exhibits, an Indian Bazaar, henna tattoos, and the pulling of a chariot through the festival grounds.
“People will pull the chariot with the ropes and when they pull the chariot, it represents they are pulling the love and brotherhood,” Jani said. “The whole chariot represents the love and brotherhood, the message of unity and love.”
While in the music and dancers, festival goers will also be treated to a free traditional Indian feast.
On Sunday, the festivities continue with the Festival of Colours at Marina Park opening at 3 p.m. The Festival of Colours, or Holi, is an ancient Indian tradition that is also celebrating its 10th year in Thunder Bay.
“The Festival of Colours is a 1000s of year tradition from India where people throw the colours in the sky,” Jani said. “When you throw the colours in the sky, it means you throw the bad feelings, the worries away, and make your life joyful and colourful.”
Last year the Festival of Colours was held in September, but because it is the 10th anniversary, Jani said organizers wanted to bring the two together again to celebrate.
“This year we are trying a new experiment being a 10th anniversary,” he said. “We want to bring both the festivals, have a bigger celebration for both the days.”
The Festival of India is free, while general admission for the Festival of Colours is $6.50 for everyone over the age of 12. Bags of assorted colours cost extra.
For more information, visit the Festival of India and the Festival of Colours websites.
