The India Festival took place August 16, 2009 at Pioneer Square Courthouse; check your local area for an India Festival, as most major cities host one. The event is sponsored by the India Cultural Association (ICA), a non-profit group dedicated to representing all Indians and their culture. The India Cultural Association was established in 1980, to help bring the treasures of the Indian culture to local Portlanders. Prior to the event, start times were a bit confusing, as several sources all listed different start times.

The costumes the dancers wore were artworks in there own right. The headpiece alone was adorned with hundreds of beads. This beautiful little dancer awed the crowd with her moves, outfit, and adorability factor.

The weather had afforded a beautiful day for the celebration. The square was already packed with those seated and viewing the dance floor. Dance troops of little girls and adults alike took their turns on the roped-off stage, showing off the dance skills, clothing, make-up and accessories that are native to their culture. The most adorable moment of the day came as we made our way past the stage, heading towards the amphitheatre type seating area. A group of little girls, maybe ages 5-7, dressed in adorable ethnic outfits exited the dressing tents. They were all gathered around their instructor, who was daintily applying a glittery purple eye shadow to a very tiny set of eyelids. When she finished the first set, she causally asked, “Who’s next?” Every single hand in the group shot up as fast as they could. They jumped up and down while enthusiastically stating, “Me, Me.”

The children dancers.

The dancers proudly displayed a wide variety of saris and salwar kameez, authentic Indian clothing. The outfits were all intricate pieces of beaded and glittered artwork. The dancers moved to a wide variety of India’s dance styles; that only recently, have become fairly well known, thanks to Bollywood. Numerous children’s dance troops took the stage, as their proud parents watched, photographed, and applauded their skills. The speakers who announced the dance groups and singers spoke so quickly that I had great difficulty understanding the announcements. During the time frame we were at the festival, the number of child dancers far outnumbered the adult dancers; which I found to be a bit of a disappointment. Also, the staff responsible for the music fell short more than once; by playing the wrong piece. This left dancers stunned and unsure what to do when the wrong song was playing for their performance.

The event had a few authentic Indian food choices, as well as, vendors selling authentic clothing and amazing jewelry. I was impressed with the novelty items they had for sale, and could have spent hours just looking at the beaded and detailed pieces. My children, ages 6 & 8, were completely unwilling to sample foods that they were not familiar with. My children’s unwillingness to sample was absolutely no reflection of the festival; it was simply their very picky eating habits.

Unlike most cultural festivals, they did not actively hand out fliers, pamphlets, or brochures. I was disappointed that the only cultural information that was available was a small red poster board of treasures that once belonged to India. It featured eleven items that were exotically beautiful jewels and pieces that were created, crafted, or found in India. (Later, I began researching the pieces that were featured on the poster; in the hopes of teaching our readers more about India. Extensive research revealed that two of the jewels listed on the board were the same diamond. It took tons of reading to realize that it was the same diamond, which had numerous different names, and had changed hands many times due to ravages of war. After one of these seizures, the diamond was re-cut. Several of the other pieces were also not easily investigated. The treasures that were traceable, had such complicated histories, that they were difficult follow.)

	A seasoned dancer patiently reviews the moves with a young girl who is just learning the techniques, prior to their performance.

Overall, I enjoyed the dancing and novelty-type booths. My children were antsy due to the heat and uninterested in the show. However, I think the event fell short. The festival missed an incredible opportunity to teach the public more about the Indian culture.