significant dates
MARCH 6: HOLI
MARCH 21: NAVROZE (PARSI NEW YEAR) AND GUDI PADWA/UGADI/CHETI CHAND (HINDU NEW YEAR)
MARCH 28: RAMANAVAMI
EVENTS
For a listing of Holi Events in Florida, click here.
TAMPA/SEFFNER/CLEARWATER
MARCH 5-7: FREE SPIRITUAL DISCOURSES ON TULASI RAMAYANA: GLORY OF SHIVA; in English by Swami Prakashananda; presented by Chinmaya Mission Tampa; Vishnu Mandir, 5803 Lynn Road, Tampa; 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.; for information, call (813) 949-3091 or visit www.chinmayaprasad.org/
MARCH 8: MUSICAL CONCERT; sitar maestro Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan; presented by Shruti AIM and India Cultural Center at ICC, 5511 Lynn Road, Tampa; 6 to 9 p.m.; $20 for students with ID, $40, $60; for tickets, call (813) 549-9288, visit www.shrutiaim.com or email [email protected]
MARCH 11: BUSINESS & NETWORKING EVENT; organized by INDO-US Chamber of Commerce; speaker is St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman; free; 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.; HCI Ballroom, 5300 W. Cypress St., Tampa; no RSVP required; for information, visit www.indo-us.org
MARCH 13: VASANT UTSAV; presented by Academy of Odissi Dance; evening of classical and Bollywood dances; Carrollwood Cultural Center, 4537 Lowell Road, Tampa; 6:30 p.m.; $15; $5 for children under 5 years of age; for information, call Gopa Rautray at (813) 992-5234 or Koruna Pathak at (727) 742-1412.
MARCH 18: ICC SENIORS GET-TO-GATHER; India Cultural Center, 5511 Lynn Road, Tampa; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; free seminar, lunch and entertainment; no minimum age requirement; for information or ride, call John Adhia at (813) 784-1132 or Ram Jakhotia at (813) 962-4172.
MARCH 20: 13th ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT; organized by INDOUS Chamber of Commerce; Westchase Golf & Country Club, 11602 Westchase Golf Drive, Tampa; lunch/registration at noon followed by shotgun start at 1; $150 per player or $500 per foursome; sponsorships available; for information, call Kamlesh at (813) 841-9216, Jal Irani at (813) 451-8229 or visit www.indo-us.org
MARCH 21: CRICKET TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP CUP; organized by Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Rodney Colson Park, 770 Gerard Ave., Seffner; limited parking (free), carpooling is requested; free entry to all; for information, call Bharat Patel at (813) 748-2521 or Sudhir Shah at (727) 686-7424.
MARCH 22: “Zindagi Ek Safar Hey Suhana;” Gujarati social play starring Ragini Shah and Deepak Gheewala among others; 5 p.m.; India Cultural Center, 5511 Lynn Road, Tampa; organized by Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay; free to GSTB members; non-members $15 or seniors $10; for information, call Jigisha Desai at (813) 731-7747 or Sudhir Shah at (727) 686-7424.
MARCH 22: MYSHADI BRIDAL EXPO; noon to 5 p.m.; Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina, 700 S. Florida Ave., Tampa; presented by Desh-Videsh Media Group; free admission, parking, food sampling; to register, visit www.myshadibridalexpo.com; for information, call (954) 784-8100 or email [email protected]
APRIL 18: 4th BIENNIAL FUNDRAISING GALA AND SILENT AUCTION; organized by Pehchaan; English play “Jagdamba,” a Cappella group from Miami and dinner; Hillsborough Community College, Brandon campus, 10414 E. Columbus Drive, Tampa; 5 p.m.; $50 general admission; $100 sponsorship and above; for information, call Manjusha Naik at (813) 842-8563, Nandini Bandyopadhyay at (813) 220-5794 or visit www.pehchaantampabay.org
APRIL 18-24: “LECTURE ON GITA;” talks in English by Swami Mukundanandaji; Laxmi Narayan Mandir, 4615 George Road, Tampa; 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. on weekends and 6 to 9 p.m. during weekdays; daily program consists of yoga, meditation and lecture followed by dinner prasad; for free registration and information, call Sushma Srivastava at (727) 490-2298 or (727) 743-1183.
APRIL 26: CLASSICAL MUSIC FESTIVAL; organized by Swaradhana in association with St. Petersburg College; vocal recital by Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar and santoor recital by Dhananjay Daithankar; also, Milind Kulkarni on harmonium, and Harshad Kanetkar and Ajinkya Joshi on tabla; 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; St. Petersburg College, Clearwater campus, 2465 Drew St.; $50 per person or $150 sponsors (two tickets included); free for SPC students with valid ID and children under 18; paid tickets include light lunch, tea/coffee; purchase tickets at www.swaradhana.org or email [email protected] for information.
OCALA/BELLEVIEW
MARCH 27-29: GOVARDHANNATHJI PRABHU AND SHRI KALYANRAIJI PRABHU PATOTSAV; activities include Rasotsav (Raas Garba) on Friday; Purushottam Yagna on Saturday and Pratham Darshan and Nand Mahotsav on last day; Pushtidham (Haveli of Florida), 14080 S.W. 20th Ave. Road, Ocala; for information, call Bharat at (973) 460-5936, Raj Kamdar at (352) 568-5729, email [email protected] or visit www.pushtidhamocala.org
ORLANDO/CASSELBERRY
MARCH 1: 10th ANNIVERSARY BANQUET; organized by Hindu Society of Central Florida (HSCF) New Age Group; HSCF community hall, 1994 Lake Drive, Casselberry; 5 p.m.; RSVP [email protected] or call Madan Arora at (407) 971-9259 for more information.
MARCH 1: INDIAN DANCE FESTIVAL; presented by Asian Cultural Association (ACA); Dr. Phillips Center of Performing Arts, 445 South Magnolia Ave., Orlando; 3 p.m.; tickets start at $25; for information, call ACA at (407) 333-3667.
MARCH 4: WOMEN’S FORUM; organized by Indian American Chamber of Commerce; for time, venue and other details, email [email protected]
MARCH 19: SPEAKER EVENT; organized by Indian American Chamber of Commerce; speaker is Jesse Panuccio, executive director of Florida Department of Economic Opportunity; for time, venue and other details, email [email protected]
MARCH 20: ADNAN SAMI CONCERT; organized by Krish Patel and Satya Shaw; CFE Arena (UCF Arena), 12777 Gemini Blvd. N., Orlando; 8 p.m.; tickets start at $39; for information, call (407) 454-3334, (813) 842-0345 or visit www.bollywoodeventsfl.com
MARCH 22, MARCH 29 AND APRIL 12: PRE-HEALTH FAIR BLOOD SCREENING, OTHER TESTS; Hindu Society of Central Florida community hall, 1994 Lake Drive, Casselberry; 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.; $25 to be collected at time of registration and blood drawing; also, for $10 each, other tests will be done: Vitamin B12, Iron, Hemoglobin A1C, free thyroxine (T4), Prostate Screening (PSA); results/consultation on Health Fair Day at same venue, April 12, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; for information, call Dr. Aravind Pillai at (407) 718-8733 or Dr. Rajesh Patel at (407) 687-8576.
MARCH 28: FESTIVAL OF INDIA; organized by Hindu Society of Central Florida, 1994 Lake Drive, Casselberry; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; on temple grounds and the cultural program in the air-conditioned community hall; free admission with a $5 parking fee; to reserve a stall/booth or register for cultural programs, visit www.hindutempleorlando.org, then click on MyHSCF Booking; for questions, call the mandir at (407) 699-5277 or Prashant Saoji at (321) 460-0800.
APRIL 12: SEASONS OF INDIA; presented by Asian Cultural Association; violin maestro Kala Ramnath and Florida Young Artists Orchestra; Bob Carr Performing Arts Center, 401 W. Livingston St., Orlando; tickets start at $25; for information, call ACA at (407) 333-3667 or visit www.fyao.org or www.aca-florida.org
APRIL 12: “Gujjubhai Banya Dabang;” Gujarati comedy play presented by Krish Patel, V.M. Patel and Dayabhai Patel; 5 p.m. dinner and 6 p.m. show; tickets start at $15; Olympia High School, 4301 S Apopka Vineland Road, Orlando; for information, call Krish Patel at (407) 454-3334 or V.M. Patel at (407) 467-9220.
GAINESVILLE
MARCH 28: INDIA FEST & HEALTH FAIR 2015; presented by the India Cultural & Education Center; health fair will be 9 a.m. to noon and the festival will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Santa Fe Community College, Gymnasium (Building V), 3000 N.W. 83rd St., Gainesville; Indian food, dance, art, music, jewelry, clothing, henna; for information, call (352) 275-2276, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.icec-florida.org
MELBOURNE
MARCH 7-8: INDIAFEST 2015; presented by Manav Mandir; Wickham Pavilion, 3845 N. Wickham Road, Melbourne; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday; cultural shows, fashion shows, music, henna, arts and crafts, yoga demonstration, Indian cooking demo; $5 for adults, $2 for children under age 12 and kids under 5 are free; for more information, call Nina Gadodia at (321) 779-0110, Yasmin Majeed at (321) 720-8590, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.indiafestbrevard.org
TALLAHASSEE
MARCH 1: EKAL FUNDRAISER; Raja Chatterjee Group to perform; 4:30 p.m.; Lee Hall Auditorium, 1601 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.; for information, email [email protected] or vicepresident.iatlh@gmail.com or visit www.ekal.org
SOUTH FLORIDA (FORT LAUDERDALE/MIAMI/WEST PALM BEACH/PLANTATION)
MARCH 1: KRIYA YOGA PROGRAM; presented by Swami Shree Yogi Satyam; free; South Florida Hindu Temple, 13010 Griffin Road, Southwest Ranches; 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; for information, call the mandir at (954) 252-8802.
MARCH 2-4: FREE SPIRITUAL DISCOURSES ON TULASI RAMAYANA: GLORY OF SHIVA; in English by Swami Prakashananda; presented by Chinmaya Mission Miami; Olympic Heights High School (upper level, room 1223, 20101 Lyons Road, Boca Raton; 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.; for information, call (561) 400-1120.
MARCH 7: MUSICAL CONCERT; sitar maestro Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan and Gourisankar Karmakar on tabla; presented by Association of Performing Arts of India (APAI); 5 to 8 p.m.; Broward County Main Library Auditorium, 100 S. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale; $40 VIP and $30 general; for information, call (954) 885-1466, email [email protected] or visit www.apaiart.com
MARCH 14-15: ASIAN TRADE, FOOD FAIR AND CULTURAL SHOW; presented by Bangladesh Association of Florida; performers are Runa Laila and Abhijeet Sawant; noon to 10 p.m.; South Florida Fairgrounds (Expo Center), 9067 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach; $10 per person; for information, call (754) 246-2801 or visit www.asianfair.org
MARCH 15: 10th ANNUAL FREE HEALTH FAIR; organized by the Indian Physicians of South Florida (IPOF); 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.; South Florida Hindu Temple, 13010 W. Griffin Road, Southwest Ranches; free blood pressure checkup, glucose, cholesterol checks, and dental, vision and hearing screenings; for participation and information, call Narendra Maheshwari, MD, at (954) 234-6669 or email [email protected]
APRIL 17: Meditation: Awaken Your Inner Power; free lecture on Kriya Yoga teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda presented by a monk of the Self-Realization Order; 7:30 p.m.; Broward County Convention Center, Fort Lauderdale; for information, call (954) 729-2046 or visit www.flmg-srf.org or email [email protected]
Event submissions are free, e-mail information to [email protected] by the 20th.
Disclaimer: Please check with local organizers, event details are subject to change.