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Here are the Florida communities celebrating Navratri/kids garba, Bathukamma, Durga Puja and Dussehra:
TAMPA BAY AREA
Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay will celebrate Garba Dandiya Night from 8 p.m. on Oct. 9-10 and Oct. 16-17 at Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 U.S. 301 N., Tampa. Performers on Oct. 9 are Piyush Shah and Rupal Shah with Khelaiya Group. Gujarati Gaurav Master Rana & Group will take the stage Oct. 10. Kids Garba will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 24 at India Cultural Center, 5511 Lynn Road, Tampa. Performers for Oct. 16-17 are yet to be determined. The garba nights are free for GSTB members and $25 for non-members. Tickets can be purchased online at https://gujaratisamajtampabay.com/ For information, call GSTB President Sandip Patel at (865) 771-9190.
Telangana Association of Florida will hold its 17th annual Bathukamma and Dasara event Oct. 18 at The Motor Enclave, 6500 Motor Enclave Way, Tampa. Vendors/sponsors can contact (732) 781-5171.
Sanatan Mandir at 311 E. Palm Ave., Tampa, will hold daily Navratri garba from 8.30 to 10.30 p.m. Oct. 11-19. For details, call the temple at (813) 221-4482, email [email protected] or visit www.sanatanmandirtampa.org
Shree Raam Mandir,7411 E. Comanche Ave., in Tampa, will celebrate Navratri from Oct. 11-19 from to 5 to 8:30 p.m. Kanya Kumari pooja will be on Oct. 18. For information, call Nick at (813) 334-0443.
SOIKOT (Bengali Association of Greater Tampa Bay) will hold Durga Puja celebrations Oct. 16-18 at India Cultural Center, 5511 Lynn Road, Tampa. Singers Arnab Chakraborty and Manasi Ghosh will perform. For schedule details and ticket information, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.soikot.org
Jhumroo Events presents Navratri 2026 with kids garba from 5 to 6:30 p.m. followed by garba for everyone at 7 on Nov. 7 at Dr. Kiran C. Patel High School, 10721 Raulerson Ranch Road, Tampa. Tickets are $10 (kids under age 10 free). Sponsorship opportunities are available, call (407) 454-1381.
SOUTH FLORIDA
CORAL SPRINGS: The Indian Regional & Cultural Center (IRCC) will celebrate Navratri from 8 p.m. Oct. 10 and Oct. 17 at Coral Springs High School, 7201 W. Sample Road, Coral Springs. For more information, call (954) 543-1539 or visit www.irccflorida.org to purchase tickets.
PALM BEACH GARDENS/ROYAL PALM BEACH: Palm Beach India Association will present Garba from 7 p.m. on Oct. 16-17 at Palm Beach Gardens High School, 4245 Holly Drive, Palm Beach Gardens. The following weekend, Oct. 23-24, garba will be from 7 p.m. (6 to 7 p.m. free for kids) at Royal Palm Beach High School, 10600 Okeechobee Blvd., Royal Palm Beach. The event is free for PBIA members. For information, email [email protected] or visit www.gopbia.org
MIAMI: Indian Cultural Club of South Florida (ICCOSF) will hold Garba & Dandiya from 7 p.m. to midnight Oct. 17 at Elks Lodge, 6304 S.W. 78th St., South Miami. For tickets and more information, visit https://www.iccosf.org/
WESTON: Telangana Association of Florida will hold Bathukamma and Dasara festivities from 3 p.m. Oct. 17 at Bonaventure Town Center Club, 16690 Saddle Club Road, Weston. Vendors can call (786) 683-5891. For free entry registration, visit https://luma.com/a3y8qvd1
ORLANDO/CASSELBERRY
The Gujarati Society of Central Florida will hold Navratri Garba from 8 p.m. on Oct. 10, Oct. 16-17 and Oct. 24 at Olympia High School, 4301 S. Apopka Vineland Road, Orlando. The event is free for society members and $25 non-members. For information, call Chirag Patel at (407) 797-0407 or visit www.gujaratisocietycfl.com The society will hold Kids Navratri from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 20 at the same venue. It will be free for kids and members and $25 non-members. For information on kids’ garba, call Bijal Shodhan at (818) 572-5742.
Hindu Society of Central Florida (HSCF) temple will celebrate Navratri Utsav with music, raas and garba from 8 p.m. Oct. 11-19 in the community hall, 1994 Lake Drive, Casselberry. DJ Khush will provide entertainment. Kids garba/Sharad Purnima Garba will be at 6 p.m. Oct. 10. Dussehra will be celebrated from 6 p.m. Oct. 24. The event is free. For more information, call Mahendra Kapadia at (407) 595-9224 or visit www.orlandohindutemple.org
The Bengali Society of Florida will present its 45th Durga Puja celebrations Oct. 16-18 at University High School, 2450 Cougar Way, Orlando. Entertainment will be provided by singer Raghab Chatterjee with his daughters Anandi and Aheeri on Oct.16 and Ananya Chakraborty on Oct. 17. For details, visit https://bsfnet.org/
Lake Nona Indians will hold Garba & Dandiya Night from 7 p.m. on Oct. 17 at Innovation Middle School, 13950 Storey Park Blvd., Orlando. Tickets are $20 adults, $15 seniors, $10 kids 11-17 years of age. For more information, visit www.lakenonaindians.org
BARTOW/LAKELAND/WINTER HAVEN
The Bhartiya Samaj of Central Florida will celebrate Navratri at 8 p.m. Oct. 3, 10, 16-17, 23-24 at Bartow Civic Center, 2250 S. Floral Ave., Bartow. For more information, call Subhash S. Patel at (863) 838-0969 or visit www.bscfl.com for tickets.
Shree Swaminarayan Hindu Temple, 2793 New Tampa Highway, Lakeland, will hold Navratri garba from 8 p.m. on Oct. 17 and Oct. 24. For information, call (863) 687-ISSO or visit www.issolakeland.org
OCALA/BELLEVIEW
India Association Cultural & Educational Center will celebrate Navratri for members only from 7 p.m. on Oct. 16-17, Oct. 19 and Oct. 23-24 at 2030 N.E. 36th Ave., Ocala. For information, call (352) 274-0496.
NAPLES/FORT MYERS
India Association of Naples will hold a Dandiya Night from 6 to 10:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at Bent Creek Preserve Clubhouse, 9350 Bronwood Place, Naples. It is free for members, $10 for non-members. For venue and other details, email [email protected]
JACKSONVILLE
The Gujarati Samaj of North East Florida will celebrate Navratri Garba with a live band from Gujarat from 7.30 p.m. on Oct. 9-10 and Oct. 16-17 at Atlantic Coast High School, 9735 R.G. Skinner Parkway. For all four days, the combo ticket is $65 members and $20 daily. Purchase tickets at https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/gsnef/gujarati-samaj-garba-2026 or visit https://www.gsnef.org/
MELBOURNE/VIERA (SPACE COAST)
Manav Mandir temple, 7400 Waelti Drive, Melbourne, will begin Navratri, Garba from Oct. 11-20. Dussehra will be celebrated on Oct. 20. For information, call (321) 426-0668 or visit www.mmbrevard.org
37th ANNUAL TAMPA INDIA FESTIVAL OCT. 31
By NITISH S. RELE – [email protected]
The 37th annual India Festival, organized by the Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay, will be held Saturday, Oct. 31 at the Florida State Fairgrounds. Annually, about 8,000 to 10,000 people attend the daylong event every year. The festival has become one of the biggest and largest in the Southeast in the last three plus decades. This year’s chair is Ravi Patel.
In the Entertainment Hall, performers of all ages will be decked out in traditional attire for five categories of dance competition – garba, raas, folk, classical and bhangra. Throughout the hall, several closed-circuit TV monitors will be set up so attendees can watch the performances while shopping. About 200 booths will offer a variety of fashion, jewelry, arts and crafts, and home décor. Just outside the hall, food vendors will offer a variety of Indian delicacies from samosas to chicken tikka to dosa and of course everyone’s favorite chai.
Indian-American communities from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Jacksonville, Gainesville and Ocala among others will be participating in dozens of competitions.
India Festival will be from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 U.S. 301 N., Tampa. Tickets at the gate are $15; kids under 3 are free. Parking is $15. To purchase discounted tickets ($11.50 per person online) or for information, visit https://indiafesttampa.com/KHAAS BAAT LAUNCHES ANNUAL SPONSOR DRIVE
Story provided by NITISH S. RELE and SHEPHALI J. RELE
After completing our 22-year anniversary last month, we launched an annual sponsor drive to secure funds to cover production costs. Since its inception, Khaas Baat has been mailed free of cost to subscribers around the state with only a handful of paid subscribers in the past few years. In fact, we haven’t missed an issue since we began in August 2004. In addition, the entire newspaper can be found online. Since ad revenues alone do not cover our monthly production costs (printing, design, mailing), we are in great need of corporate or private sponsors. Your support will allow us to continue publishing Khaas Baat as a high-quality newspaper you depend on.
Please send your contribution via Zelle to (813) 758-1786 or you can PayPal ID to: [email protected] You may also send a check addressed to KHAAS BAAT and mailed to KHAAS BAAT, 8312 WINDSOR BLUFF DRIVE, TAMPA, FL 33647.
With our festival season under way, we request community leaders and organizers to email event details to [email protected] by the 20th of the month to be included in the following month’s issue. We always welcome your story ideas and suggestions on how we can best serve our community.
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