significant dates
AUG. 15: INDIA INDEPENDENCE DAY
AUG. 17: PARSI NEW YEAR
AUG. 18: RAKSHA BANDHAN
AUG. 25: KRISHNA JANMASHTAMI
EVENTS
TAMPA/CLEARWATER/ST. PETERSBURG
AUG. 3: “Desi Club;” organized by India Cultural Center, 5511 Lynn Road, Tampa: 1 to 4 p.m.; table tennis, carom, card games, chess, etc.; no membership, no minimum age requirement; free; for information, call Ram Jakhotia at (813) 962-4172.
AUG. 15-17: LIGHTEN UP & DIVE DEEP; free spiritual discourses in English (reflections on Bhaja Govindam) by Swami Swaroopananda; organized by Chinmaya Mission Tampa; 7:30 to 9 p.m.; Hillsborough Community College-Dale Mabry campus (auditorium, DSTU Student Services Building), 4001 W. Tampa Bay Blvd.; for information, call (813) 949-3091.
AUG. 17: 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.
AUG. 17: BUSINESS & NETWORKING EVENT; organized by INDO-US Chamber of Commerce; speaker to be announced; free; 6:30 p.m.; HCI Ballroom, 5300 W. Cypress St., Tampa; no RSVP required; for information, visit www.indo-us.org
AUG. 27: HAF’S (HINDU AMERICAN FOUNDATION) ANNUAL TAMPA GALA DINNER; Shaan Patel, winner of ABC’s “Shark Tank” and WAHH! Band in attendance; 6 to 10 p.m.; Hindu Temple of Florida, 5509 Lynn Road, Tampa; $25 adults, $15 students, $15 kids and under 5 years of age are free; RSVP [email protected]
AUG. 27: TAF PICNIC 2016; daylong event organized by Telugu Association of Florida, Tampa Bay; Lettuce Lake Park, 6930 E. Fletcher Ave., Tampa; for information, call (813) 789-4976.
AUG. 28: SENIOR EVENT; organized by Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay; 4 to 7 p.m.; VYO Center, 5809 Lynn Road, Tampa; for information, call Himatlal Parekh at (813) 922-8090 or Jigisha Desai at (813) 731-7747.
SEPT. 7: “Desi Club;” organized by India Cultural Center, 5511 Lynn Road, Tampa: 1 to 4 p.m.; table tennis, carom, card games, chess, etc.; no membership, no minimum age requirement; free; for information, call Ram Jakhotia at (813) 962-4172.
SEPT. 17: GANESHOTSAV (GANPATI FESTIVAL); organized by Maayboli Melava Tampa Bay; for time, venue and other details, visit www.mmtbusa.org or email [email protected]
SEPT. 17: MUSICAL EVENING WITH SITAR MAESTRO USTAD SHUJAAT KHAN; presented by Shruti Foundation and Swaralaya; 4 to 6:30 p.m.; USF School of Music Theatre, 3755 USF Holly Drive, Tampa; $25 general and $100 VIP admission; children ages 12 and under $15; book online at www.shrutischoolofmusic.com or call (813) 549-9288 for more information.
SEPT. 17: THE BURMAN LEGACY CONCERT; presented by Kaakimaas Box Creations and Funndu; singers include Jolly Mukherjee, Shrikant Narayan, Nirupama, Priyanka and P. Ganesh; Ferguson Hall, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa; 7:30 p.m.; tickets start at $25; for information, call Dr. Meena Jain at (727) 480-6597.
SEPT. 18: SENIOR EVENT; organized by Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay; 4 to 7 p.m.; VYO Center, 5809 Lynn Road, Tampa; for information, call Himatlal Parekh at (813) 922-8090 or Jigisha Desai at (813) 731-7747.
SEPT. 24: BANYAN BALL; annually organized by the INDO-US Chamber of Commerce; 6:30 p.m.; Kapok Special Events Center, 923 N. McMullen Booth Road, Clearwater; agenda includes keynote speaker, business awards, entertainment; for tickets or information, call (813) 358-8384 or visit www.indo-us.org
SEPT. 24: “MEERA - THE SOUL DIVINE;” dance production features Chitra Visweswaran and Chidambaram Dance Company; music composed by Bombay Jayashri; 6 p.m.; India Cultural Center, 5511 Lynn Road, Tampa; presented by AIM for Seva; for information, call Kala Gangadharan at (732) 485-3410 or email [email protected]
SEPT. 30-OCT. 1, AND OCT. 7-8: NAVRATRI; organized by Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay; Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 U.S. 301, Tampa; 8:30 p.m.; free for GSTB 2016 members, non-members $15, students with valid ID $10; for information, call GSTB President Jigisha Desai at (813) 731-7747.
OCT. 2: KIDS NAVRATRI; organized by Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay and India Cultural Center in ICC hall, 5511 Lynn Road, Tampa; 3 to 6 p.m.; for information, call GSTB President Jigisha Desai at (813) 731-7747.
ALACHUA
AUG. 25: SRI KRISHNA JANMASTAMI; organized by Alachua Hare Krishna Temple, 17306 N.W. 112th Blvd., Alachua; all-day darshan from 8 a.m. to past midnight; arati, children’s costume contest, classical Indian dance and music performance, Radha Krishna abhisheka, Maha arati; for details, call (352) 222-1440, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.alachuatemple.com
ORLANDO/CASSELBERRY/WINTER PARK
AUG. 7: MONTHLY MEET: organized by Hindu Society of Central Florida (HSCF) New Age Group; 1:30 p.m.; HSCF community hall, 1994 Lake Drive, Casselberry; seminar by John Buschle of Protective Life Insurance Co. and Chet Tokar of Edward Jones on planning for long- term health care; Q&A session, snacks and hot tea; RSVP to [email protected]
AUG. 7: CRICKET TOURNAMENT; sponsored by Gujarati Society of Central Florida; organized by Jitu Panchal; Barnett Park Recreation Center/Gym, 4801 W. Colonial Drive, Orlando; 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; for information, call Panchal at (407) 421-1068 or Kalpesh Patel at (321) 946-6332.
AUG. 14: DREAM TEAM STAR CONCERT; presented by Krish Patel and Satya Shaw; featuring Badshah, Parineeti Chopra, Sidharth Malhotra, Katrina Kaif, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur and Karan Johar; CFE Arena, 12777 Gemini Blvd. N., Orlando; 7:30 p.m.; tickets starting at $59 can be purchased at www.bollywoodeventsfl.com; or call Krish Patel at (407) 453-3334 or Satya Shaw at (813) 842-0345.
AUG. 12-14: MEDITATION SIMPLIFIED; spiritual discourses on teachings from Upanishads, Bhagavad Geeta and Guru Granth Sahib by Swami Swaroopananda; organized by Chinmaya Mission Orlando; Chinmaya Mission Orlando, 1221 Florida Road, Casselberry; for details, call Vibhu Agrawal at (407) 963-6301 or visit www.chinmayaorlando.org
AUG. 25: JANMASHTAMI; Shree Jalaram Mandir, 600 Hull Island Drive, Oakland; 7:30 onward; for information, call Jayesh Patel at (407) 460-2020.
AUG. 28: COMMUNITY HEALTH FAIR; Hindu Society of Central Florida community hall, 1994 Lake Drive, Casselberry; free; 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; for information, call Dr. Aravind Pillai at (407) 718-8733 or Dr. Rajesh Patel at (407) 687-8576.
SEPT. 24: SEVENTH ANNUAL IACC GALA; presented by Indian American Chamber of Commerce; 6:30 p.m.; Gaylord Palms Resort, 6000 W. Osceola Parkway, Kissimmee; $125 per person; to purchase tickets, visit www.iaccorlando.com
SEPT. 11: MYSHADI BRIDAL EXPO; noon to 5 p.m.; Hilton Orlando, 6001 Destination Parkway, Orlando; presented by Desh-Videsh Media Group; free admission, parking; for information, call (954) 784-8100.
SARASOTA/BRADENTON
SEPT. 10: THIRD ANNUAL MANASOTA INDIA FESTIVAL; organized by the Gujarati Association of Manasota and Indian American Association of Manatee and Sarasota; Bradenton Area Convention Center, 1 Haben Blvd., Palmetto; noon to 8 p.m.; food, cultural activities, dance program; $3 per person entry; free for children under 5 years of age; for information, call (941) 524-6545 or email [email protected]
OCALA/BELLEVIEW
AUG. 25: JANMASHTAMI UTSAV; Pushtidham, 14080 S.W. 20th Ave. Road, Ocala; starts at 7:30 a.m.; for information, call (352) 307-0065 or email [email protected]
SOUTH FLORIDA (FORT LAUDERDALE/MIAMI/DAVIE)
AUG. 18-20: LIGHTEN UP & DIVE DEEP; free spiritual discourses in English (reflections on Bhaja Govindam) by Swami Swaroopananda; organized by Chinmaya Mission Miami; 7:30 to 9 p.m.; Laxmi Narayan Mandir, 9851 S.W. 168th St., Miami; for information, email [email protected] or visit www.cmmiami.org
AUG. 28: RAKSHABANDHAN CELEBRATION AND BOWLING PARTY; organized by the Indian Regional & Cultural Center; 3 to 6 p.m.; SpareZ Bowling Arena, 5325 S. University Drive, Davie; free for current members; family membership is $50, non-members $15 per person; for information, call (954) 543-1539 or visit www.irccflorida.com
SEPT. 10: SOLO AND FUSION OF CELESTIAL SOUND OF SITAR AND VEENA; presented by Association of Performing Arts of India; performers are Pandit Krishna Mohan Bhatt (sitar), Nitin Mitta (tabla), Saraswathi Ranganathan (veena) and Ganapathi Ranganathan (mridangam); 5 to 8 p.m.; Broward County Main Library Auditorium,100 S. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale; $10 students with current ID, $25 general admission and $35 VIP; for information, visit www.apaiart.com or email [email protected]
Event submissions are free, e-mail information to [email protected] by the 20th.
Disclaimer: Event details are subject to change. Please check with local organizers.