July 4th Parade Grand Success in Ojai, California!
Mayesvara Das ACBSP: Thank you to everyone who helped make the July 4th parade a great success! Due to everyone’s cooperative effort we were able to flood the ears of all those who watched our award winning parade float with the transcendental sounds of the Holy Name!
Our entry in the parade is unlike any other float. We are colorful, large, innovative, captivating, transcendental, and very auspicious. This year we introduced Vayu Hasti (the huge inflatable elephant) to the public which includes the sound of an arriving elephant that allows him to declare the grand arrival of Lord Jagannatha’s chariot! This was greeted with big smiles and a robust applause of appreciation!
Also introduced was the flower cannon that projected quantities of flowers up to 50 feet into the air which then rained down on the dancing devotees. This was received with loud roars of ooohhhs and ahhss form the unsuspecting audience on both sides of the street!
The reception in Sarazotti park was also bigger than ever with over 300 people coming to take part in a prasadam picnic meal that consisted in an opulent spaghetti dinner (with back olives, seasoned TVP chunks, & ricotta cheese), fresh baked rosemary bread, cold fruit salad, fresh green leaf salad, blueberry halava, peanut-butter burfi, and our signature ice-cold mint-concord-grape (from our garden!) juice drink!
The parade people appreciated our efforts so much they awarded us 1st place in the Church Float Category!
Thank you to all of you who helped make this a wonderfully successful effort to share Lord Caitanya’s mercy to the people of Ojai!