Bringing Krishna Culture Festivals to a City Near You

Baltimore/Washington area 2012 University Campus Festivals of India

Submitted by Jahnavi devi dasi on Sun, 05/06/2012 - 00:49
Tour Diary


The students of the Washington D.C. and Baltimore area are forever grateful to Festival of India because of it's outstanding work to help us publicize and build membership of our Krishna clubs. This spring in April and May of 2012, we invited the Festival of India to four campuses: the University of Maryland College Park (UMCP), University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), George Washington University, and American University. In just four campus Festivals of India in the spring of 2012, over 6,000 students got a positive first time exposure to Krishna consciousness. They experienced the colorful vibrant Vedic culture, Srila Prabhupada's books, and mouthwatering prasadam free feast. Since the university authorities expressed great pleasure by the happy atmosphere created by the Festival of India, they are looking forward to hosting the Festival of India again on their campuses during the fall semester.

Not only students, but professors, university faculty, and staff enjoyed the festival. University of Maryland professor Dr. Larry Wilt who visited India with his wife twice in the past ten years, smiled while looking at the Festival of India exhibits and bright colorful tents on his campus. While enjoying a plate of prasadam, he commented that attending the Festival of India on campus made him feel like he had a free mini vacation to India.

It all started in 2010 when the Festival of India came to the University of Maryland College Park. Anand Gupta, the current president of the University of Maryland Bhagavad-Gita Club says, "We had 25 students coming to our weekly vegetarian cooking class. After Festival of India, we started having 250 students. Now, due to having the Festival of India every semester, our numbers are increasing. We have 350 students coming every week. The Festival of India attracts serious, interested students." In addition to the popular free vegetarian cooking class on campus, the University of Maryland holds weekly Bhagavad-Gita class. Thirty seven students regularly chant Hare Krishna on beads and are following the four regulative principals. They even enjoy coming on field trips to Gita Nagari farm and rise for mangala arati and help with the farming. Seventy five percent of the students are coming from Western upbringing; twenty five percent of the students are coming from Indian Hindu background.

"We eagerly look forward to Festival of India coming to town because it attracts thousands of students to Krishna consciousness and greatly increases the amount of students coming to our weekly programs," states Sankirtan Yagna Prabhu. He devotedly cooks the delicious prasadam feasts for the four campus Festivals of India. Each week, for the campus preaching programs, he cooks mouthwatering international prasadam delights like scrumptious veggie burgers, gourmet sandwich wraps, cakes, and countless varieties of vegetarian Indian, Thai, Tex-Mex, Middle Eastern, Italian, Brazilian, American, and Chinese delectible free feasts. During the recent two day Festival of India at the University of Maryland College Park, 2,500 students ate the delectible feast.

Because the devotees are very encouraged by the success of the Fesival of India on the four campuses in the Baltimore/Washington area, now they are in the process of starting Krishna conscious clubs at University of D.C. and at Howard University. They are enthusiastic to welcome Festival of India to come to six campuses in the fall. "We Baltimore/Washington area devotees are forever indebted to Madhuha Prabhu for bringing the Festival of India here and are eager to have the Festival of India on more campuses," says Jahnavi devi dasi. Now, it has become a tradition to host the Festival of India on the four Baltimore/Washington area campuses. Students comment that they look forward to it every semester.

Just to get an idea of what the University of Maryland's Festival of India is like, please feel free to click on the link below. The University of Maryland news (called The Diamonback) did an excellent news story cover on the Festival of India, called "A Taste of Culture."
Please feel free to happily click on this cute little news footage:
http://www.diamondbackonline.com/news/video-a-taste-of-culture-1.1477933

Festival of India Documentary DVD--Available Now!

Submitted by madhuha on Sun, 04/08/2012 - 21:37
Tour Diary

Festival Of India 2012 Summer Tour

Submitted by madhuha on Sat, 12/31/2011 - 18:53
Tour Diary

2012 Proposed Tour Schedule (Up-dated June 20, 2012)

March 7----------Gaura Purnima
*March 17 and 18----------Miami, Florida, Ratha-yatra and Festival of India
*April 2----------Washington D.C., American University, Festival of India
*April 4 and 5----------University of Maryland; College Park, Festival of India
*May 2----------Washington D.C., George Washington University, Festival of India
*May 3----------University of Maryland, Baltimore, Festival of India
*May 19----------Jacksonville, Florida, Ratha-yatra/Festival of India
*May 26 and 27---------- Baltimore, Maryland, Ratha-yatra/Festival of India
*June 2 and 3----------Atlanta, Georgia, Pani Hati/Ratha-yatra/Festival of India
*June 9----------New York City, New York, Ratha-yatra/Festival of India
*June 24----------Chicago, Illinois, Ratha-yatra/Festival of India
*June 30----------Bloomington, Illinois, Ratha-yatra/Festival of India--FOI's First time to Bloomington!
*July 4----------Washington D.C., Ratha-yatra/FOI will not be in Washington DC, call 301-299-2100 for info
*July 7 and 8----------Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Ratha-yatra/Festival of India
*July 14 and 15----------Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Ratha-yatra/Festival of India
*July 17----------Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, Ratha-yatra/Festival of India
*July 21----------Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Ratha-yatra/Festival of India
July 22---------- San Francisco, Ca. Ratha-yatra with the LA/SF Festival, for more info call 707-426-4672
*July 28----------Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Ratha-yatra/Festival of India
*August 5----------Los Angeles, California, Ratha-yatra/Festival of India
*August 9----------Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Sri Krishna Janmastami
*August 10----------Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa Puja
*August 18 and 19---------- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Ratha-yatra/Festival of India
*September 1, 2 and 3/Labor Day Weekend----------Seattle, Washington, Ratha-yatra/Festival of India
*September 15----------Honoring Srila Prabhupada's 1965 Arrival at Commonwealth Pier
*September 16----------Boston, Ratha-yatra/Festival of India on the Boston Common
*September 20 and 21----------University of Maryland College Park
*September 22----------Philadelphia, Pennsylvania--Ratha-yatra/Radhastami
*October 22----------American University, Washington D.C.
*October 24----------Washington D.C., George Washington University/Kogan Plaza, Festival of India
*October 25----------UMBC/University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Festival of India
*October 27----------Potomac, Maryland. Sri Ramacandra Vijayotsava Festival
*November 3----------Sandy Ridge, North Carolina / Prabhupada Village--Festival of Lights for Peace

*These cities/dates are Confirmed.

Hare Krishna

Festival of India Going Back to New Orleans

Submitted by madhuha on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 00:05
Tour Diary

New Orleans Rathayatra November 12-13, 2011

Third Annual New Orleans RATHA YATRA- November 12 & 13 Washington Square Park 9am til 9pm. Parade is Saturday the 19th beginning at 9:30am from Basin and Canal to N. Peters to the Park at 706 Elysian Fields. Come one come all!

For more information, please visit http://www.newtalavana.org/festivals.htm or call 601-749-9460