Greater Chicago Indian Community’s 8th annual cultural fest @ Lemont, Illinois

Greater Chicago Indian Community (GCIC) celebrated its 8th Annual cultural fest on January 13th, 2024, on an account of Makara Sankranti and Republic Day. GCIC President Chandana Puranam and honorable president Venkata Reddy Lingareddygari along with other Board of Directors invited all the guests to the venue Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago (HTGC), Lemont, Illinois.

Around 450 people attended the event. Program was kickstarted with traditional Bhogi Pallu event followed by Drawing, Rangoli, Cooking, Little-chefs No Fire cooking and recycle material model competitions. Cultural programs started around 4:30 pm.

Stage was graced by most of HTGC temple Trustees. HTGC temple president Gopal Srinivasan and other trustees spoke about their association with GCIC and wished good luck. GCIC Board of Directors Jayanthi Ramesh Babu, Suganthi Selva Ganesh, Subhadra Mahanta and committee chairs Archana Ashok, Sarada Vedula made sure all the competitions are executed flawlessly.

Indian American Medical Association (IAMA) president, Radhika Chimata was the chief guest for the event. GCIC Board of Directors Chandana Puranam and Deeksha Sharma felicitated Dr. Radhika and spoke about her achievements and services towards the community.

Registration desk was effectively handled by Poornima Jaya Balan and return gifts from India were presented to all the attendees. GCIC Board of Directors Shashanka Saduneni, Aadi Tanneru and Siva Desu made sure all the required items were shipped from India on time and oversaw sponsorship committee.

GCIC vice-president Seshu Chamarthy, Treasurer Siva Palagiri and Board of Director Siva Arige made sure delicious food and snacks were served on time to all the guests.
Tollywood playback singer Anjana Sowmya and Chicago based singer Praveen Jaligama sang melodiously for about 2 hours.

Cultural Committee members Narasimha Oruganti and Venkateswarulu Gajjella made sure that musical night was executed flawlessly. Decoration committee member Lakshmi Narayana Thotakura worked closely with event planning company to make sure that décor reflected the festive theme.

Radhika Gunda acted as MC for the event. Board of Director Srujan Nainappagari introduced all the sponsors to guests. Audio / Video team members Ashwini Mahanta, Anup Chaturvedi and Kannabiran worked tirelessly to telecast the event live on the YouTube channel.

Sathish Mathiyan made sure that informative promos about the singers are presented. Volunteers Srikant Pallabothu, Venkat Perumalla, Suresh Amruthalingam, Bala Devadoss, Vamsi Atluri, Sharat Konda, Ram Kumar, Rajan, Sree Harish Jammula, Guru Vandavasi, Hari Muli, Mahesh helped execute the event successfully.

Manu Suthan and Aryan Bahl from Vaathi Productions covered the onstage performances and competitions. Suresh Pichandi took care of family pictures at photo booth. Event planners Back2Back events decorated the hall tastefully.

Srinivas Patela handled the sound system. GCIC president and Board of Directors thanked all the volunteers for their tireless efforts in successful execution of the event which concluded the event on a high note.