Entertainment
15 August, 2024
Curries plus more on menu
EXPERIENCE India’s vibrant culture, cuisine and entertainment in all its authenticity without having to catch a plane to New Delhi with the inaugural Cairns Indian Festival this Saturday.
The first Cairns Indian Festival on Saturday, August 17 promises to be an unmatched celebration at Fogarty Park from 11am to 9pm where participants will get to experience sides of India that they’ve never seen.
Organised by the Global Organisation People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), the first Cairns Indian Festival will have over a dozen food stalls showcasing cuisine from the north to the south of India, entertainment for all ages, cultural dances and performances, and a Bollywood band straight from India to end the night with a bang.
“This is the first major event GOPIO Cairns has run. There are other Indian celebrations across Cairns on a smaller scale, but we wanted a celebration that would bring everyone together and showcase everything India has to offer,” said GOPIO Cairns president Subash Chetry.
“We are hoping to get attendance of up to 3000 people to make this a staple event of the Cairns calendar,” he said.
“We’ll get started at 11am and until 3pm we’ll have dance workshops, kids’ activities, henna workshops, face painting and a panipuri eating competition to get the kids involved.
“The main function starts at 4pm with the flag hoisting which is very significant because we celebrate India’s independence on August 15, we’ll hold many cultural activities, dancers and we have a Bollywood band that’s coming from India and local performers.”
GOPIO Cairns secretary Aju Mathew said one of the biggest highlights would be the food and a major raffle to win two flights to any city in India.
“Food is the main attraction. We have 13 to 14 food stalls from local restaurants. We’re trying to bring the cuisine from different states and we’ll have some local food vans bringing an Indian twist with products like a chicken tikka pizza,” he said.
“There’s more than butter chicken, this is the opportunity to experience food you’ve never tried before, and you could only try if you went to India.
“Another big attraction is the raffle tickets. You could win two return tickets to any destination in India for two people. Tickets cost $5 or three for $10.”
Mr Chetry encouraged people to attend the festival and celebrate with the Indian community.
“We want to bring everyone together to show India totally, from food to culture, and it’ll mean a lot to us to share it with the Cairns community,” he said.
“We’re inspired by other cultural events. We want to grow so we can support the Cairns economy in years to come.”
Online tickets for the festival are $5 or $10 at the gate. To buy tickets, visit https://www.trybooking.com/CSLLD
