Date: March 13, 2010, 5 PM to 9 PM.
Location: DoubleTree Hotel, 1500 Park Place Blvd, Minneapolis
Contact: Shalini Thadini (651-734-0645) tshalini@gmail.com
This is one of the key annual events of IAM. The objective is to bring Indian American and well known political and non-political celebrities together in a formal dinner. In the past, Rep. Betty McCollum (Congresswoman, MN 4th District), US Senator Mark Dayton, State Senator Satveer Chaudhary, First Lady, Mary Pawlenty has been the chief guest and key note speakers in the event.
This year the program includes a Conversation on The Future of Indo-US Relations by Community Leaders and presentation of the IAM Achievement Award.
International Institute of Minnesota facilitates a 'Festival of Nations', which is a confluence of ethnic groups from all around the world. The purpose of this event is to create awareness and understanding of the diverse ethnic arts, culture and food to the metropolitan community and the state of Minnesota. It also serves to strengthen the bond between various ethnic groups as well, as they all work together toward a common shared goal. Participation builds close friendship among people of diverse backgrounds as groups work side-by-side in a display of unity. Festival of Nations provides us all an opportunity to get a glimpse of various cultures and traditions of the world under one roof. All participating nations would get an opportunity to display their language, arts, culture, and food that is part and parcel of their social fabric. The event attracts close to 100,000 people each year and a lot of schools in the state of Minnesota organize visits for their students. This is a great opportunity for some valuable scholastic information, which other wise would be hard to get in a walled classroom or through books. Each group would have an exhibit booth to showcase their arts and culture. All the representatives and volunteers participating in this event are dressed in their respective country's traditional clothing making the entire experience more attractive and colorful. Ethnic cafes serve their native food; bazaars sell artifacts, dress and other articles unique to their countries. India Association of Minnesota, in keeping with the tradition and spirit of this cause, takes pride in representing India, one of the greatest nations on the face of this earth and its cultural ambassadors in the state of Minnesota. We continue to make this event and our participation in it more attractive, appealing and meaningful with each passing year, as our numbers keep growing. We invite you to either actively participate as volunteers or visit this colorful event.
Date: July, 2010 tentative
Location: TBD
Subject: Meet and greet the Minnesota 2010 Gubernatorial Candidates. Question and Answer sessions, Table talks with the candidates. Refreshments.
Date: August 15, 2010
Location: St Paul Capitol Grounds.
The IndiaFest is the premier Asian Indian-American community's celebration of rich culture and heritage in the state of Minnesota. India Association of Minnesota (IAM) has been proud to present the annual event to the community at large. This used to be called Festival of India now IndiaFest. The IndiaFest is the showcase of live Asian Indian music, traditional dances, cultural entertainment programs, food stalls, exhibit and merchandise booths, interactive yoga and much more! Visitors get a unique opportunity to learn about India and the Indian-American community. Several India-related organizations in Minnesota participate to educate attendees about the fascinating aspects of Indian culture that they represent. The IndiaFest/Festival of India is one of the most popular events of the India Association of Minnesota, mainly because it is an opportunity to reach out to the broader community. In the recent past, US and State Senators, Minnesota's Secretary of Sate, the Mayor of St. Paul, State Representatives, the Indian Consulate General from Chicago, local media celebrities, and many other such esteemed guests have joined IAM to celebrate India at the Festival.