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Gujarat Public Affairs Council of Canada (GPAC) participated in the India day Parade with Panorama India. Parade Marshall was renowned Bollywood Actor, Lara Datta from India. GPAC was approached once again to create a float for “Gujarat”.
Parth Mehta (Scotiabank), CIBC, Nayan Brahmbhatt (CIBC), Sabras restaurant, Namaste India Grocery and GPAC Board of directors were the major contributors. The float was on a 56” truck which was divided into two. GPAC member & event organizer, Bhavesh Kothari designed the float with Somnath temple and Garba theme and worked closely with NYCO team.
"In collaboration with Garvi Gujarat Seniors group, we were able to depict Mahadevji, priest, Mirabai and many such characters who recited bhajans. The other half was Garba performance with a group of dancers who were clad in designer chaniya cholis and kedias. DJ played Garba music which made the entire parade dance on the tunes of Gujaratis. We had huge community participation with Garbas on the street of Toronto. It was quite popular and people really liked the design as well as the music. We were adjudged the BEST Float for Design and Lively performance; received the Prestigious First Prize consecutively for 2 years now. It was attended by 70,000 community members," Motivational Expert Dr. Shailesh Thaker said.
"The event helped to spread GPAC awareness in GTA. Lots of videos, pictures, live Facebook, Twitter & Instagram posts were posted so the organization name and fame was spread all across the world. Gujarati Media patrons, Lalitbhai Thaker (Gujarat Weekly), Swadesh team, Shilpesh Parikh (Gujarat Abroad), Divya Bhaskar & Gujarat Newsline were present at the event. President – Dhaval Vediya, Secretary – Jignesh Patel, Treasurer – Jitendra Vyas and Directors – Rajeshbhai Shah, Rajnikant Patel and Nayan Brahmbhatt were present at the event. Director-Bhavik Parikh managed the Social media promotion which reached 28,000 people, volunteer Malay did videography and created flyer for the event. From the board of directors & members, we thank the entire Indo-Canadian (Gujarati) community for the trust in our organization", he added.
Glimpses of the event:
