The Cultural Society of India celebrated its inaugural India Festival at Panther Creek Park on Saturday, and the group is already wanting ahead to subsequent yr’s occasion.

CSI President Bhavna Shah mentioned that the group has been round for 39 years, organizing numerous cultural and academic occasions, however they wished to do one thing huge this yr.

“We are getting ambitious. We want to go beyond the tri-state area. So a lot of sweat and blood has gone into this and a lot of people have come together to make this event happen,” Shah mentioned.

So, in collaboration with the Owensboro Cricket Association, they hosted an all-day cricket event alongside the India Festival. Throughout the day, friends can study Indian tradition by dance, meals, music and cricket.

The dance classes showcased dances from totally different areas of India, together with Tamil people dance from the Southern area and a few Bollywood Zumba classes.

The partnership with cricket got here simply Shah mentioned.

“Cricket is the favorite sport of India. It’s like the heart and soul of India. Everybody loves cricket, people of different cultures, religions, castes, everything. They forget all their differences, and they unite to play this sport,” Shah mentioned.

OCA President Dhiren Haria mentioned that seeing the assist locally was nice and understanding that he’ll have the ability to welcome folks to the world of cricket provides to the enjoyable on Saturday.

He mentioned that cricket is rising within the nation because the nation is constructing the Major League Cricket and likewise qualifying to play within the World Cup.

“I’ve been playing 7 o’clock in the morning. It’s super exciting. It’s just exciting for me to play in the tournament and exciting to show the world what cricket is. I’ve been talking to people, and they don’t know anything about cricket,” Haria mentioned.

With Owensboro Health as a presenting sponsor and seeing the turnout from the neighborhood, Haria mentioned that it showcases how supportive Owensboro is.

Shah mentioned that with subsequent yr being the fortieth yr of CSI, they hope to convey it again even greater.

“We should start planning and next year, we plan to get even bigger,” she mentioned. “…We are trying to leave a mark here. We just want to spread the love and keep India alive in our hearts.”