Offering an afternoon of
dance and yoga and an evening of food and cultural entertainment, the 25th
annual Festival of India will be held on Saturday, October 13, at the Stevens
Point Area Senior High School (SPASH).
The festival, presented by
SHAMA Inc., provides fundraising to support education for India’s women and
children, with all proceeds benefitting SHAMA Inc.’s support of programs that
empower the impoverished in India.
The free dance and yoga fair
will be offered from 3–6 p.m., featuring several different types of yoga, a
Reiki and energy healing session and a panel discussion of spiritual traditions
of India. Workshops will be held at 4 p.m., including Indian cooking, Bollywood
dancing and sitar music. The festival will also include an Indian Boutique,
Garba dancing with guest participation, Indian music, sculpture carving, palm
reading, dream interpretation and numerology.
The buffet dinner (meal
ticket required) from 5–7 p.m. will feature tandoori chicken tikka, chana
masala, basmati rice biryani, naan (flatbread), aloo sabzi (potato curry), nav
korma (mixed vegetable curry) rayta (cucumber salad), chutney and achar, mango
ice cream and beverages.
The free stage performances
begin at 7 p.m., with Gil Halstead of Wisconsin Public Radio as the emcee.
Performances will include a Ghandi sculpture presentation, an update on SHAMA
projects, classical Indian vocals, sitar music and Kathak, Bharat Natyam and
Bhangra dances.
Tickets for the dinner are
$14 for adults, $9 for college and high school students with ID and for
children (ages 6-12), and free for children ages five and under. Advance
tickets may be purchased in Stevens Point at the Stevens Point Area Co-op, 633
Second St.; Kindred Spirit Books, 1028 Main St.; and the Point Motel, 209
Division St.; and in the area at Motel 6, 911 Huntington Ave., Wisconsin
Rapids; and the Days Inn, 4700 Rib Mountain Drive, Wausau. Online tickets are
available through PayPal and tickets at the door are an additional $2.
Sponsors from UW-Stevens
Point include the Diversity and College Access Office, College of Fine Arts and
Communication, and the South Asia Society. Other sponsors and supporters are
the SPASH administration, General Federation Women’s Club/Stevens Point Junior
Women’s Club, TravelGuard, Fox Valley Interfaith Association, IndUS–Fox Valley,
India Association of Fox Valley, Sikh Temple Society (Fox Valley), Suvani Dance
Group, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Wisconsin Network of Peace & Justice, and the
Point Dance Ensemble.