Supplied. (Mukesh Kugsal)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

AUGUST 3

Festival of Chariots brings cultural blessings

Jul 4, 2024 | 2:14 PM

Red Deer’s second annual Rath Yatra: Festival of Chariots, a Hindu celebration, returns to the Canada 150 Square on August 3 for a day of family-friendly activities.

Organized by the non-profit International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), from 1-4 p.m., the free event will feature a parade, live music and stage shows, singing and dancing, a bouncy castle, henna and face painting, a small market, and a vegetarian feast.

“It’s more about coming together in peace and harmony and enjoying this event,” says Shiven Pillay, an administrator and event organizer for ISKCON. “Basically, it’s a day to bring more people together, give more exposure to the city, and bring more culture into the society.”

The event will be opened at 12:30 p.m. with coconut aarti, a prayer and blessing for the event’s success. The chariot parade will then get rolling and circle through the square’s trails; there are no road closures expected for the parade.

Pillay shares that Rath Yatra is a thousands-of-years-old tradition in India wherein deities of the Hindu Lord of the Universe are presented and paraded so that people can receive blessings from them.

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“Once a year the deities come out of the temples and give full view to everyone, so if people cannot make it to the temples, they get a chance to see the deities and take blessings from the deities,” he says.

Last year’s event had about 350 participants and Pillay hopes to see it grow with every year they celebrate.

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