CHICAGO: Holi, the festival of color, will be celebrated on March 21 at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, a suburb of Chicago.
Sunil Shah, founder president of The Federation of Indian Associations (FIA), a conglomeration of Indian civic organizations, in a talk to this paper said that they expect huge participation of people of Indian origin and general public at the FIA hosted Holi Mela. According to his estimate, more than 1,500 members of Indian community would participate in the day long Mela.
Moon Khan the FIA Vice President said the program beginning at 11 am will end at 4 pm. It will feature traditional sprinkling of colors, mesmerizing music, and dazzling dance performances, he said.
Sunil Shah added there would be Bollywood dance items with color of Holi; Bhangra fusion dances and other folk dance items to entertain the crowd. For kids there would be buggy jumps. On top of this, the organizers have planned to get 20 plus vendors from Chicagoland offering traditional Indian cuisine, marketing Indian jewelry items, Indian dresses and boutiques.
The entry fee is only $5. Elected city and State officials and news media representatives will have complimentary admission. The Grand sponsors are Haldiram and various community organizations.
Suresh Shah
