Pictures of Past Events

 

Flying High - 2011 Uttarayan Festival Fills the Skies with Color and Laughter

By Shobana Daniell

The Gujarati Society of Central Florida held its popular Uttarayan festival on Sunday January 16 at Chisholm Park in St. Cloud near Orlando. Over 2,500 people attended this fun filled event, the venue was spectacular with a huge lake in the background, a forest at one end and the gigantic park in the middle which was packed with revelers flying colorful kites. This festival is also known as Makar Sankranti when, according to Hindu astronomy, the sun enters the rashi (zodiac sign) of Makara (Capricorn) and celebrates the journey of the Sun from the southern hemisphere to the northern and hence always occurs on January 14^th. In Hindu culture Makar Sankranti is considered very auspicious as it signifies the end of winter and a new beginning

The festival is celebrated in India by flying kites, and it is especially popular in the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. The Gujarati Society had a stall staffed by its committee members including Mr. Nilkanth Kapadia, president and Mr. Sunil Panchal who were busy selling stacks of kites and manja – thread. One of the typical scenes in this festival is not just flying kites but having a duel with other kites, where the point is to maneuver ones kite in such a manner that it cuts the thread of the opponents kite to a chorus of cheers usually accompanied by the sounds of Kaipo Che, meaning it is cut in Gujarati.

The park was packed with families with even little children as young as 3 and grandparents all seen busy spinning the spools of thread to get their kites as high as possible. The scene took Mrs. Rupaben Sheth back to her childhood, she said “It reminds me of the fun I had and now enjoy seeing her children and grandchildren fly kites”. This was echoed by Deesha Smart, an 11th grader  who came with her parents to fly kites, said “I loves Indian festivals as they are a great and fun way to not only practice our traditions but also meet our friends and have great family oriented fun”.

The weather was mild with the wind picking up speed after mid day and the sky was dotted with kites in shapes, sizes and color. The festival was organized in an efficient manner, and appreciated by the attendees, Mr. Jayant and Mrs. Jyotsna Pandya remarked “We are impressed how well it is planned and followed through without a hitch. There was something for everybody from little kids to the senior citizens”. He added, “The food was excellent, activities were entertaining and the weather cooperated to the fullest! What more do you ask for?” Professional DJ Bhavin Vaishav had his audio equipment set up and the music gave it a party flair, an information stand for the Dance Fusion of Feb 12 was used to publicize the event organized by younger generation, there were stalls selling cds, videos, saris, clothes, phone services, etc. And in the midst of the games and stalls there was a Gujarati Society senior group holding its meeting to discuss future programs.

Parents and elders were lost in the precious nostalgic memories of kite-flying in their past, as they taught their own children the art of kite-flying. Ruchi Kapadia echoed that sentiment, for her the high point is “Flying kites with my dad – Nilkanth Kapadia - is the best part because he gets really competitive and it’s a lot of fun.”  The family fun was what seemed to the common sentiment shared by all, Mrs. Neeta Panchal was there with her family, she noted that with the “Sky filled with kites, children learning to fly the kite and adults enjoying being young at heart and cherishing the playfulness of cutting someone's kite-people as well as freshly cooked- simple but most satisfying food- gave Gujarati Society’s Uttarayan a wonderfully joyous atmosphere”.

Given the wonderful weather in Florida and the positive reputation of Gujarati Society’s Uttarayan celebration, Mr. Tino Patel remarked that it had drawn people from far way states like New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Michigan and many locals who are not Gujaratis and that “it would be a good idea to make it a winter vacation and this year it reached a record crowd of over 2,500 people and perhaps next year it could become a mega event with more activities.” Strong publicity via newspapers, Gujarati Society flyers and www.bestdesievents email blasts certainly helped pull in such a huge crowd. This also impressed Ruchi Kapadia, “I think the number of people that came to the event impressed me the most because it shows how much our community is growing and how we can all come together and partake in our culture”.

 

Group Dance Competition & TALENT SHOW 2010

The Annual Talent Show and Dance Competition 2010 was presented by Gujarati Society of Central Florida. It was held on Saturday Dec ^5th, 2009 at the Orange County Convention center.

The attendance was tremendous as the whole theatre was packed with over a 3500 people consisting of the Gujarati Society members and friends. The show lasted about 7 hours that included minor, junior and senior dance competition.  The spectators were glued to their seats as the dance performances were fabulous on the stage. There never seemed to be a single dull moment during the long entertaining show.

There was great Dinner of Indian food provided FREE by Gujarati Society of Central Florida to all. This was the 5th gathering of Gujaraties along with other community members of Indian culture under one roof showing the unity of Indians. The leader of the community said “Gujarati Society plans to continue these types of Talent Shows and Dance Competition Events in the coming years and would like to take it to a National Level.”

The Motto of Gujarati Society of Central Florida's is to encourage youths and kids to bring out their talents,  and would like the future generation to keep our tradition going on for years to come. In view of this for the first time Master of Ceremony (MC) was handled by youth of Gujarati Society.

Gujarati Society’s vision is clear. It is to unite all and provide a platform and a venue to enhance awareness of our heritage and culture to our new generation. Serve the needs of the community by encouraging our members to come celebrate our festivals throughout the year. To provide social networking and in full filled environment with good food

 

winners 2010

 

 

GARBA & NAVRATRI CELEBRATION 2010

The Volunteers of Gujarati Society of Central Florida, Inc. had a big smile on his face and a deep inner satisfaction as the Navratri Celebration came to an end. The Holy Festivals of Hinduism, was observed in honor of nine (9) manifestations of Maa Durga and in a peaceful and orderly manner.

Top Musical Groups, Raj & Smruti Pandya Group and Lakhia Brothers performed with the best of musical tones as well as their musical artistry, kept 2 year old children, youths and adult women and men dancing in circles around the Garbo with Ambe Maa being at the center of the hall.

The most exciting part of the festivity was the Garba competition for kids, youths and adults. The winners were awarded with impressive trophies, toys and gift items. Lahni (pressure cooker) was distributed to all the members which brought good smile on every ones face.

The Gujarati Society Members could not resist having a taste of Indian Food that was being served by Gujarati Society volunteers. On Last day the volunteers served Fafda and Jalabi making the event so much more memorable.

Special Thanks to all the Aarti Donors, Sponsors, Vendors, Volunteers, Committee members, Students and all the active members.

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The Gujarati Society of Central Florida is now making its identity in southeast region. So many well organized events during the year have motivated many new faces to join the society. 

The Society has celebrated Navratri Festival with great zeal and enthusiasm. The event was organized at Lyman School – Longwood, on Sept 18th, 19^th, 25^th, & 26^th. It was a grand success. Indians from Orlando, Kissimmee, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Leesburg, Ocala, Deland, Daytona participated in the event.

This year number of membership broke all the past records. Approximately 500 families have became members (33% rise than last year) On all the days nearly 2000-2500 people witnessed this even. It was amazing to watch the folk playing Garba in colorful traditional dresses  and ornaments. The Garba and Ras were played till 3.30 am every night. Youth of the central Florida enjoyed this cultural event the most. This shows that this kind of event will preserve our culture in next generation. This is the main moto of Gujarati Society.

On Sept 26^th, there was competition for the participants of all age. Winners were awarded the trophies for best costumes and dance. And all other competitors were given participation trophies. Attractive toys were distributed amongst the children below 10 years. The Prasad of Shira was sponsored by different restaurants of Orlando. Everyday other Prasad were brought by the people by their own. The women folk was very happy to receive unique gift in form of Lahni (Pressure cooker) which was sponsored by Gujarati Society.  There were many sponsors and donors who were instrumental in making this event a huge success. The advertisements of the sponsorers were displayed through LCD projectors on wide screens on all the corners of the pavilion. This made advertisement more eye catching and attractive. And in turn made the advertisers very happy.

The most highlighting feature of this event was great coordination of committee members and volunteers under the dynamic leadership of President Nilkanth Kapadia. It was his vision to make 500 members this year.

Melodious music were played by Lakhia Brothers, Raj Pandya & Family during different weekends.  They made the crowd rock throughout the event.

This year to set a new trend, delicious food was served by the society on a very reasonable rate. All the attendees enjoyed the delicious Bhel, Papdi Lot, Pani Puri, Bhaji Pav etc.

Everyone present there was thrilled and delighted and had words of appreciation. All of them are looking forward for the next event of Gujarati Society i.e. talent show on Dec 5, 2009.