Annual Festival of Chariots spreads happiness in Novi

NOVI — The annual Festival of Chariots paraded through the streets of Novi July 21.

During the festival, the Hindu gods Lord Jagannath, Balarama and Subhadra are taken through the streets in a 40-foot-tall chariot “so that everyone can have the fortune of seeing them.”

The festival has been celebrated in Michigan for 39 years, 15 of which have been in Novi. However, this year the festival entertained its largest turnout of an estimated 13,000-15,000 people. Event organizer Madhu Mahadevan, of the ISKCON (Hare Krishna) temple in Detroit, said that in years past the event has seen between 8,000 and 10,000 people.

“Five to six years ago it was 8-10 (thousand people) and now it’s always over 10 (thousand people), “ said Mahadevan.

He said that a lot of people came later in the day. He said the festival typically winds down by 4 p.m. However, this year they still had a large crowd at 5:30 p.m. Mahadevan attributed the increase to organizers’ use of marketing at various other festivals throughout the year.

Along with the parade, where the public is able to help hand-pull the chariot through the streets as people dance, the festival featured a kids area, traditional Indian dancers, and numerous vendors selling Indian food, clothing, jewelry, as well as offering Henna tattoos.

“It’s always a great event,” said Novi Mayor Justin Fischer.

Fischer said he has attended the festival as long as it’s been in Novi. He said it is obvious the festival is growing, as the city’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department provided the festival with a stage for its opening ceremony this year. In years past, the festival had a low platform for speakers and performances. The addition of a stage allowed the audience to get a better view of the guest speakers as well as the traditional Indian dancers.

“It was nice because with a full stage, we could have a full dance by young ladies in our temple, which was received very well,” Mahadevan said. “All the dignitaries spoke from the stage, which I think was a little grander experience.”

“You can tell it’s really picking up steam,” Fischer said.

He said it was nice to be able to speak this year as mayor, welcome people to the city and “embrace a different culture.”

“What’s awesome about this festival is the themes that they always bring are all about happiness, joy and brotherly love, and those are values that Novi’s diversity has embraced for many years now,” Fischer said. “So, Novi’s obviously a perfect fit.”