Photo courtesy of Festival of Joy.
The fourth-annual Festival of Joy, presented by Kalachandji’s, ESSM Innovative Technologies and American Airlines, is returning to Klyde Warren Park this April.
At the free event, Kalachandji’s will have stalls offering regional Indian street food.
Kalachandji’s, a vegetarian restaurant located at the Radha Kalachandji Temple campus in East Dallas, celebrated its 40th anniversary last year.
The Festival of Joy, also called Ratha Yatra or the Festival of Chariots, has been celebrated for more than 3,000 years in Jagannatha Puri in India, making it the oldest street festival in the world, according to a press release.
Photo courtesy of Festival of Joy.
Dallas’ event begins at 11 a.m. April 15 at the park with a welcome ceremony. A parade through the Dallas Arts District will start at noon and end at the park around 1:30 p.m. Festivalgoers will pull a chariot carrying Jagannatha, Balarama and Subhadra along Flora Street. People will also be dancing, singing mantras and playing musical instruments.
After the parade, guests can take part in a free vegetarian feast and visit exhibits of holistic living. Musical mantra meditation, or kirtan, and classical Indian dance, or bharat-natyam, will be held at the main stage. Included among the performers are Manipuri dancer Rinku Das and Odissi dancer Krishnaveni Putrevu.
In addition to Kalachandji’s stalls, there will be stalls presenting Ayurveda, yoga, crafts, cooking demos, ask-a-monk, tie-a-sari and face painting.
