Morny Anand of Alexandria, VA, was one delighted shopper. There was a lot of variety, more so the quality and exquisiteness of items caught the eye and imagination! Shopping was a huge attraction at the festival this weekend drawing scores of ladies who couldn’t seem to get enough of the traditional Indian wares. Now, the event is being held at the Dulles Expo Center twice a year – during Mother’s Day weekend in Spring, and as a precursor to Diwali in the Fall. Not always a good idea because as Rena Surana-Nirula, a member of the organizing committee, pointed out, “the weather can be dicey, so we moved it indoors”. The festival, now in its fifteenth year, was earlier held outdoors on the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. You add to that the stage performances, good food, it just changes the whole dimension”! “We have added so much variety in terms of the vendors”, he stressed. It has turned out to be a buzzing and exciting event, one of the biggest shopping events on the east coast”, he said. We have put an LED screen on the stage where we have some 450 kids performing over two days. “The crowd is almost double and we have a 30 percent increase in booths and vendors from last year. “It was a great success”, he told us at INDIA THIS WEEK on Sunday evening as the festival was drawing to a close. Shishir Misra, proprietor of Rushhi Entertainment, Inc., and organizer of the event, was delighted with the response. Over 15,000 people attended the entertainment-packed, fun-filled event setting a record of sorts for a community function! Indian Dance, Music, Shopping, Cuisine is a Huge Draw By Geeta GoindiĬhantilly, Virginia, Novem– For Indian-Americans in the Washington area, all roads led to the Dulles Expo Center this weekend as thousands thronged to partake in the Heritage India Festival – Diwali Extravaganza, a large-scale celebration heralding the Festival of Lights! For two days, the spacious, indoor Center bore a festive look as over 15,000 members of our community took in the sights and sounds of a ‘Mela’, the likes of which one would find in India. ![]() Air India flight crew were among the attendees.Scenes from the 2015 Heritage India Festival – Diwali Extravaganza by Rushhi Entertainment held at the spacious Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Virginia. Pleased to see the Nrityaki students performing Kathak and Bollywood dance with equal élan, she said, “Diwali celebration is a fantastic initiative promoting our culture in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area. Sneha Mishra, the winner of the 2019 Miss India DC pageant, happened to be present at the airport during the celebration. She described the celebration as a matter of great pride and making a part of history. The performances – classical and Bollywood – were choreographed by Kathak exponent Shweta Mishra, the founder of Nrityaki Dance Academy. The students of Nrityaki Dance Academy, Virginia enthralled the onlookers, travelers, airport personnel and Air India passengers with their dance performances making the celebration a riveting glimpse of what Indian culture is meant. Freebie international chargers were also distributed. ![]() Everyone present at the airport that moment was greeted ‘Happy Diwali’ and given a packet of cookies. With traditional dance performances and henna art demonstration, the celebration was as diverse as the rich Indian culture. ![]() Washington Dulles Airport’s Diwali 2019 celebration was at its cultural best. Evidently, Washington Dulles Airport was the first choice for Diwali celebration at a major US airport. Besides, it is one of the sources of nonstop Air India flights to India. Located in Fairfax and Loudoun counties of Virginia, Dulles Airport (IAD) caters to thousands of Indians from the Washington DC Metropolitan Area and does have good air connectivity with New Delhi. The credit goes to Akanksha Sharma, marketing associate for Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, for the initiative. While the Times Square Diwali in New York is the most spectacular one and the White House Diwali is the most talked about one, the Washington Dulles Airport Diwali has scripted a new history by being the first of its kind at a leading US airport. President Trump’s lighting of the ceremonial lamp in the White House and his message about the administration’s commitment to protect religious liberty in the US was followed by a Diwali-special cultural extravaganza at Washington Dulles Airport (IAD). Starting from the White House and Swaminarayan temples, the festival of lights traveled to Washington Dulles International Airport, the national capital region’s gateway to the world, in a historic first this year. The celebration of Diwali in the United States is grander this year than the previous years.
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