East-West Times…Information you desire

The Asian Indian Community of Tampa Bay Florida celebrated its 21st Annual India festival on November 8, 2008, at the USF Sundome in Tampa, Florida. The event started at 1:30pm and continued until mid night. This year more than 10,000 people from Florida, neighboring states and places as far as New York and Boston attended the event. IndiaFest-Tampa has become one of the most popular South Asian Event in the State of Florida, with visitors and vendors from all over Florida and neighboring states get together to enjoy the day with the rich heritage of India.

Forty two teams from all over the South –Eastern USA participated in competitions for Indian ethnic Folk dances, Bhangra, Garba, Raas and Classical dances. Almost all the state universities were represented, with some universities presenting more than one item. The cheers of the large crowd and high quality, energetic dances filled the Sundome with a joyful atmosphere, throughout the day.

‘The Voice of Florida’ singing competition conducted with support of the Pandit Jasraj School of Music provided an added touch to the entertainment extravaganza with finalist presenting an array of beautiful songs for the crowd to enjoy.

Congressman Gus Bilirakis of Florida was gracious to attend as the chief guest. Chairman Dr. Nandkishor Shah thanked the Congressman for his continuous support for India and especially for him being a strong proponent of India’s bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat. Congressman Bilirakis talked about the importance of closer Indo-US ties.
About 15 different restaurants from all over the state catered a variety of delicious dishes to thousands. Exotic juices and Ice creams were an additional treat to those palates.

An additional feature, this year was the ‘Community Health Education Initiative’. People enjoyed getting health screening and health education at the designated area of the festival.
The event was a great success despite the increasingly troubled economic conditions. The vendors, participants and the crowd enjoyed the day with family and friends. The success can be credited to the hard work and numerous volunteer hours of individuals of the executive committee.