Video coverage of St. Augustine Ratha Yatra
Festival of Chariots, or Rathayatra, is an annual event celebrating Indian and Hindu culture. The festival was celebrated in St. Augustine on Saturday, April 9, 2016, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It featured two colorful parades, live entertainment, vegetarian food, dancing, art vendors, and more. The Festival of the Chariots, also known as Ratha Yatra, is a timeless festival, originating in the ancient city of Jagannatha Puri in India. Today, this festival, which celebrates an invitation to the Lord of the Universe to enter our hearts, is held in many major cities across the globe. Here in Florida there are 8 Ratha Yatras (Festival of the Chariots) hosted each year.
Residents and visitors viewed the vibrant Festival of Chariots parade in the downtown area from 10:30 a.m. to noon along King Street, beginning and ending at the Plaza de la Constitucion.
At 1 p.m., a walking procession called Harinam began along St. George Street, with colorfully-garbed participants singing and dancing as they proceed down to Cathedral Place and the Plaza, where a cultural program took place from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
In addition to the parades and other festivities, the festival featured a vegetarian feast highlighting Indian cuisine, music, a dramatic presentation, art vendors, a magic show, face painting, henna tattoos, and much more.
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/dJ87Sm