Around 10,000 people expected to attend the parade.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: The Chicago suburb of Naperville is slated to host its inaugural India Independence Day parade this year, making it the first city in Midwest America to do so.
Krishna Bansal, chairman of Indian Community Outreach in Naperville, said the downtown parade and subsequent celebration in Naperville Central Park will mark the 69th anniversary of India’s independence on August 16.
“The parade symbolizes Indian culture,” said Bansal. “It’s on Independence Day for India and it’s more to celebrate the culture, celebrate the heritage, celebrate the city — that’s what we’re going to be doing,” he told the Daily Herald.
Nimish Bhatt, vice chairman of Indian Community Outreach, informed the Chicago tribune the parade will start at Center Street and Fourth Avenue at 2 p.m. and end round 3 p.m. in Central Park. The afternoon will spotlight a variety of Indian cuisine, arts, jewelry, apparel and performances by professional folk dance groups.
“India is such a diverse country by itself,” Bansal told The Herald. “There are so many subcultures within India and we are going to have representatives of most of them.”
Organizers said they expect as many as 10,000 people to line the four-block stretch of Center Street between 4th Avenue on the north and its southern end at Central Park to watch the parade.
The inaugural India Day Parade comes nearly two years after Mayor Emeritus George Pradel, who will serve as parade marshal, created volunteer positions within the mayor’s office for Indian Community Outreach and Chinese Community Outreach; residents of Indian and Chinese heritage make up a combined 11.3 percent of the city’s population, according to 2010 census data.
“Indians are now a significant part of Naperville’s population,” Bansal said, “both in numbers and impact.”