Event Details – 2024
Pre-Festival (12-Hour Kirtan) @ Hare Krishna Temple,
243 Avenue rd, Toronto
Friday, July 12 2024
Ratha-Yātra – Parade (Chariot Fest) on Yonge St, Toronto
Saturday, July 13 2024
Festivities @ Toronto Centre-Island
July 13 – 14, 2024
The Festival of India has taken place in Toronto for over half a century, yet its rich history actually stems from thousands of years of tradition and heritage. The festival begins with a vibrant parade down Yonge Street in which three giant floats are hand-pulled by thousands of attendees and spectators amidst melodious singing, chanting, drumming, and dancing.
Everyone is invited to come, walk, chant, sing or dance in the parade. Celebrations then continue throughout the weekend.
The parade down Yonge Street echoes an annual procession that has occurred for centuries in the ancient city of Puri, India. There, three mammoth chariots, known as rathas are taken on a jubilant procession, called a yatra. Hence, the Festival is also known as Ratha-Yatra or “chariot procession”. In Puri, this age-old Ratha-Yatra procession continues to attract over a million people every year!
Seated on each float (chariot) are beautifully bedecked Deities of Jagannatha (another name for Krishna or God), Baladeva (Krishna’s brother), and Subhadra (Krishna’s sister). The procession itself symbolizes the pulling of the Lord into our hearts and this is done with great pomp and grandeur.
In the late 1960s, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the worldwide Hare Krishna Society (ISKCON), inaugurated the North American and international versions of this ancient Indian festival. With roots steeped in spiritual traditions, the festival is now celebrated in every major city around the world, including London, Paris, Sydney, and New York.
