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Diaspora

3000 guests attend 2022 Asian Festival

BALBIR SINGH | May 23, 2022 11:22 PM

INDIANAPOLIS: More than 3, 000 guests turned up for the family-friendly Asian Festival and 300+ performers and artists enthralled the guests with their vibrant cultural activities, including dances. About 30 volunteers did their jobs with dedication. Besides culture, arts and music there were free health fairs and fun activities for the entire family. The venue of the 2022 Asian Festival was the spacious Global Village Welcome Center 4233 Lafayette Road, Indianapolis, Indiana.
After the opening ceremony was performed by AAAI President Rupal Thanawala and Judith Thomas, the immediate attention was shifted to the 15-minute ICCCI Dragon Dance. At the end of the Dragon Dance the stage was occupied by ICCCI Ling's Oriental Martial Arts (China) performance.
Internationally acclaimed Danish-Punjabi singer, Anita Lerche, sang Sikh Devotional Hymn “Simran” and other thrilling Punjabi songs. A large number of guests, including world known artist Kanwal Prakash KP Singh (KP Singh Designs) - Indianapolis joined the floor.
Little Masters and Bollywood Dance Group (India) and individual dance performances on Bollywood songs drew repeated cheers. Performers from Afghanistan also made their presence felt. There were thrilling performances by Chin Community Cultural Dance (Myanmar/Burma) and Philippines Barangay Club Dance Troupe.


Mayor Greg Ballard and his wife Winnie Ballard, International Center Founder and President, Indiana India Business Council Raju Chinthala, Founder of International Progressive Taekwondo Federation Grandmaster Javed Khan, Executive Director of Center for Interfaith Cooperation Charlie Wiles, Maria R Manalang were among those who graced the occasion.
Meanwhile, Sankalp Srivastava and Vishnu Iyer, were among eight outstanding servant leaders from local high schools who were presented the Asian American Youth Leadership Award by chief guest Mayor Joe Hogsett during the Asian Festival.
Other outstanding servant leaders felicitated were Aya Wiles, Jasmine Zhang, Mang Tial, Naheed Sherzad, Tuchin Par and Yuefan Ma.
The award recognizes Asian American youth with demonstrated civic leadership and academic achievements in the memory of former board members and president Young-Hee Yednik.
The Indiana Historical Society was proud to partner with the Asian American Alliance in support of Asian Festival.
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb has proclaimed "the Month of May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the State of Indiana and invited all citizens to duly note of this occasion." Celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month and join us to experience the culture, arts, music and food of Asia.
The Indian booth displayed important information regarding its Independence Day, Tricolor (flag), currency notes, and tourist attractions, including the Taj Mahal. The mission of the India Association of Indianapolis is to foster cultural exchange between people of India and the USA, and to carry out educational and charitable activities.

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