The Puranava Children’s Indian Culture Fest held for the first time in Houston on Saturday, April 7th 2018 was a grand success. Almost 400 people, including several Americans and non-Indian visitors, came to the event through the day. Many of them commented that they enjoyed it and that it was very informative.
The entire event, which had so many different areas to it, was brought together by almost 100 volunteers. The Quiz and Art competitions had about 80 participants of all ages across different categories.
About 15 local businesses and restaurants sponsored gift certificates and prizes for winners, and 7 vendors had booths selling Indian clothes, jewelry, toys and food at the event.
The Mayor of Pearland Mr. Tom Reid and Mayor of Manvel Ms. Debra Davison, both came to the event and spoke very appreciatively of GOD and its presence in the community. Smt. Ranjana Narasimhan and Sri Tupil Narasimhan, Meenakshi Temple founding members, were also special guests. All of them gave away prizes to the competition winners.
This program was supported by the City of Pearland Cultural Arts Grant. This is the fifth year in a row that GOD has received this grant.
The event featured
– Puranava Quiz and Art competitions,
– Tents showcasing exhibits from North, South, East and West India,
– A Musical Play on Sant Jnaneshwar by the Gopa Kuteeram Drama Club
– Dance performances,
– Puppet Show,
– Mehendi booth,
– Booth selling Indian vegetable and plant saplings
– Booth selling Indian children’s books
– Try-a-Sari Booth
– Photo booth
– Vendor booths selling Indian saris, jewelry, toys, etc,
– Raffle prizes
– Kids art and craft activities
