Upcoming Events in USA

USA Blues Barbecue and Fireworks

Fireworks and barbecue! What could be better than this? On August 24 at Pier 54 witness the majestic Brooklyn Bridge, linking Manhattan and Brooklyn, and the amazing fireworks display. Catch free live blues by the water at Pier 54, part of the Hudson River Park’s annual summer of fun. Top bands play at this one-day mini festival and, to get things really sizzling a barbecue is thrown in too.

USA Sloss Furnaces Stokin’ the Fire BBQ and Music Festival

 The Sloss Furnaces Stokin’ the Fire BBQ and Music Festival has something for everyone! See chefs and amateurs battle it out for the best BBQ! In addition to the BBQ battles, everyone can enjoy local music at the Stokin’ stage, purchase BBQ from nationally acclaimed BBQ vendors, and enjoy global grilling demonstrations by chefs from the best restaurant.

The USA, or the United States of America (America for short), located on the North American continent, is comprised of 50 States, 48 of them contiguous, or connected by borders, as I am sure most people who know anything about America understand. Everyone has knowledge of the vast size and diversity of the many states, and what they have to offer. Some of the more popular states for tourists are California, Florida, and even New York. America offers vast forests, parks, museums, cultural and industrial centers, amusement parks, sports facilities, camping parks, and so much more.

But because of its vast size, and the distances between locations, the best way for you to see America is what we are offering you. Regardless of what state or states you choose to visit, Camper Travel USA offers you the perfect way to get the most out of your holiday. Renting a motorhome with Campertravel will allow you freedom of movement, as well as the luxury of a kind of portable home-away-from-home environment that will help you to make this the vacation you deserve.

Picture yourself in your Motorhome RV - Hire USA, driving in perfect weather, through the hills, forests, and small towns of America. Can you imagine the excitement you will feel at gazing upon the lush and beautifully peaceful forests. Can you picture the quaint and interesting scenery in those small towns you will encounter when traveling in your USA RV rental.

One of the most interesting museums in the country is located in the Capitol region of Washington, District of Columbia, and is called the Smithsonian Museum. It is not one building, but a series of buildings where you can spend endless days touring, while using your Camper Travel USA rental vehicle as your base of operations. But there are interesting museums in every state, delicious food, festivals and events, and most major cities in America.

But let us suggest a couple of alternatives to those “most frequently visited” states and places where the majority of tourist go, and a few camping parks. There are two states we would like to offer for your consideration, and the best way to see them is in your USA campervan rental vehicle. One is Pennsylvania, and the other is Utah. There is much to see and do in these two states, and the number and combinations of destinations is endless. That is why we recommend using a Camper Travel USA rental.

First is Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, one of the Middle Atlantic States, and one of the 13 original states of the United States. Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia is its largest city. In Pennsylvania you can see and explore the world of a unique group of people, the Amish. They dress in a severely plain style, using hooks and eyes instead of buttons to fasten their clothes. They ride in horse-drawn buggies instead of automobiles, and the adult males wear beards. Religious services are held in homes; foot washing is practiced in connection with the communion service; discipline is enforced by shunning; and marriage with outsiders is condemned. The Supreme Court of the United States agreed that their right to the free exercise of their religion is protected and that the state’s concern for compulsory public education must yield to that consideration.

Tourism is virtually the only industry in the Pocono Mountains, along a popular resort area. In the more rugged woodlands of the Alleghenies several summer and winter resort areas have been developed, including a number of ski resorts. In addition, Pennsylvania’s many historic sites attract millions of visitors yearly. Picture yourself in your USA motorhome rental, touring through those mountains and maybe even taking in some of the resorts activities, including seeing one of their shows.

The state’s three major navigable waterways, the Delaware River, the Ohio River, and Lake Erie, have helped make Pennsylvania an important trade and transportation center since colonial times. What better way to see them, and travel around the marvelous waterways than in your USA RV Rental.

The other location we would suggest is the state of Utah, which is a state in the western United States, partly in the Rocky Mountains. Its great variety of landscapes includes high wooded mountains, lakes, valley oases, barren salt flats, deserts, and a wild plateau country with strange rock formations and rainbow-colored canyons. Imagine touring these in your motorhome. For the nature lovers, or the hunters, this state offers mule deer, elk, pronghorn, moose, bison (American buffalo), black bear, cougar, Rocky Mountain goat, and Rocky Mountain bighorn.

A number of museums in the state have exhibits pertaining to state and Mormon history, including the Mormon Church-affiliated Museum of Church History and Art in Salt Lake City and the Pioneer Village Museum in Farmington. The University of Utah has museums of fine arts and natural history. Other museums in Utah include the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park in Vernal, the Children’s Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City, and the Fairview Museum of History and Art in Fairview. Again we suggest the use of your RV hire USA vehicle as the perfect way to interact with all these attractions, which are spread over a wide area.

You can marvel at all these and more thrilling destinations and sights for the family and even activities for the kids when using a USA campervan rental. Anyone can adjust to driving in America with our USA Motorhome driving information. Enjoy a unique, memorable and stress-free vacation when you rent or hire a camper van, RV, or Motor Home from campertravelusa, you can travel at your own pace and leisure and you can save a considerable amount of time and money and even on petrol.

At Camper Travel we are proud to offer our customers the best service in the industry. We give prompt responses to our customers’ enquiry; we have got the friendliest, most honest, and reliable reservationists; our prices are the most affordable in the market; and to top it all off, we provide our customers’ with the most comprehensive quotes and motorhome-RV driving guides and travel information on current events, exchange rates, and more.

But the perks of renting or hiring a motorhome from campertravelusa do not end there. We have a large selection of vehicles to suit your needs and preferences. We could also give you further suggestions on other interesting places to visit on your trip. So why not let your next vacation begin and end in the most enjoyable way by using Camper Travel USA as your agent in setting you up with a trip which will allow you to fully enjoy the exciting sights and rich culture America has to offer.

DaDaFest International Festival

From Thursday 4th until Sunday 7th September DaDaFest International 2008 brings to the heart of Liverpool a brand new fusion of the best and brightest of cutting edge Deaf and Disability Artists offering audiences a wealth of UK and International talent, with events this year including performance, comedy, dance, music, sculpture, film, photography, and poetry.

Premiers and exclusives include Ninja Mat, Mat Fraser and Julie Atlas Muz with 'Beauty and the Beast'. Award winning Scottish dancer and performer Claire Cunningham will be showing her new Aerial work 'Mobiles' and dance piece 'Evolution'. Liverpool favourite Laurence Clark comes hot wheeled from the Fringe with his new comedy show 'Spasticus Fantasticus' whilst poet, playwright and Performer Julie MacNamara presents the first showing of her Merseyside inspired drama 'Crossings'.

At St. Georges Hall Denise Leigh will be presenting her new recital work 'Horizontal Heroines' and a programme of early music with Ukrainian musical virtuoso Stefan Andrusischyn.
In complete contrast crazy sign dance disco diva collective The Alexandras will be high kicking up a storm at an open air stage, whilst American photographer Kevin Connoly will be bringing his acclaimed 'Rolling Exhibition'.

With artworks from Ju Goslin, Gus Cummins and newly commissioned works from Aaron Williamson, Tanya Raabe, Wolfgang Temmel and Martin Bruch, clubnights from Frogtastic and DaDaLesque, the Oska Bright Film Festival, Feature films including the Northern premier of Richard Butchins BAFTA banned 'The Last American Freakshow'.

Children's events includie Neslysim Divadlo from the Czech Republic, Comedy with the delightful Lamada and Voizeux from France, new plays including Tyst Theatre from Sweden and plenty of hands on opportunities to meet the artists and explore new ideas and creations.

The Yungaburra Folk Festival is a music festival held in the historic village of Yungaburra, in north Queensland, Australia. The festival of 2006 marked the 25th anniversary of the Festival. The first ever "Festival of the Tableland", was held in Herberton on 8 May and 9 May 1981. It then moved to Yungaburra in 1982, where it has been held ever since. Various individuals and groups - including locals, the Cairns Folk Club and the Townsville Folk Club - ran the Festival for the next 11 years. Since 1994, the Festival has been organised by a committee of Tablelanders. The festival is kept going by the passion and commitment of the organisers.

The festival celebrates world-wide folk traditions through music, storytelling, circus, dance, and crafts, and features musicians, dancers, circus and fire artists, comedians and festival performers. Yungaburra is surrounded by World Heritage rainforests, lakes, waterfalls and Queensland's tallest mountain, Mount Bartle Frere.

Intimate concert settings showcase music across a wide range of blues, roots, jazz, world and folk styles, plus comedy, poetry and dance. The combination of young and old, modern and traditional enhances the intimate, feel-good atmosphere.

This combination of young and old, modern and traditional is just one of the ingredients that has made Yungaburra Folk Festival such a great local event. The Festival retains an intimate, feel-good atmosphere in the midst of its undoubted success and popularity. Barbara explains the factors that has seen the Festival grow over the years but still keep close to the 'Old Folkies' vision.

Yaamma Festival

This year sees the launch of a new cultural festival designed to promote and enrich Indigenous communities in remote areas of far-western New South Wales - The Murdi-Paaki Region.

The Yaamma Festival is the first project to come out of the Bourke Aboriginal Community Working Party (a non-political community organisation). They developed a Community Plan entitled: Building Bridges - Having Fun and Living Well. It reads:

"A unified Bourke community, with Aboriginal people as leaders of the whole Bourke community, bringing spirit and respect for land and people to the whole community."

The themes of the Yaamma Festival, taken from the Community Plan, are spirit, soul, heart, mind and body. The festival program and events have all been designed around these themes.

The Yaamma Festival features a musical concert. Performers this year will include the Warumpi Band, who are delighted to perform at this event, reuniting for one concert. The concert line-up also features Archie Roach, Ruby Hunter and Neil Murray.

The week-long program features dancing, sports, bush foods, a symposium on water, bush poetry, and an attempt to create the world's largest painting.

Everyone is invited to participate in the longest painting attempt. Works can be submitted by anyone who wishes to take part including individuals, organisations and community groups.

All works that are submitted in the longest painting project must be based around the Yaamma Festival themes of spirit, soul, heart, mind and body.

The painting will be a collective of diverse stories and artwork from around Australia. Participants' work will be unified, sewn together into a single body of work by the Bourke Aboriginal Women's Group and in the process producing the single largest painting on record - over 350 metres long.

Many groups from around the country - including schools, correctional facilities and individual artists - have registered their interest and involvement in the project.

Some schools have invited Indigenous artists from their region to share local history, stories and art and convey this onto canvas. Students are involved personally in developing the story through painting, artistic expression and interpretation.

Festival celebrating world culture

BEIJING, June 10 -- In a circular letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) dated April 2, 1906, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games invited members to an advisory conference to determine "to what extent and in what form the arts and literature can participate in the celebration of the modern Olympiads".

Coubertin's version of Olympism - what the Olympic Movement aspires to be - is inextricably linked to the arts and humanities "harmoniously joined with sports". Thanks to his vision, his work has been as applicable to host cities of recent Olympic Games as it was to the nascent Olympic Movement of 1906.

In 2003, Norbert Muller, Manfred Messing, and the Research Team Olympia of the University of Mainz (Germany) studied the meaning of the cultural program to spectators. Research from the 2002 Salt Lake Games showed 84 percent of respondents agreed with the statement - "The Olympic idea combines sport and art." This significantly high response compares with 72 percent for the 2000 Sydney Games, 23 percent for Atlanta in 1996, and 40 percent for Barcelona in 1992. The research shows a trend in the growth of awareness of the significance of cultural and arts programs in Olympiads and Olympic Arts Festivals.

"The arts were always at the center of Coubertin's vision for the Olympic Movement. In the years of preparation required to deliver a credible Olympic cultural program, I have found that Coubertin's unflagging belief in the power of music, dance, and words was sustaining," Raymond T. Grant, the artistic director of the 2002 Olympic Arts Festival and managing director of the Salt Lake Olympic Committee writes in his article Contrast, Culture and Courage: A Cultural Administrator's tribute to Pierre de Coubertin. To inherit the cultural legacy of Coubertin and highlight the value of cultural programs within the Olympic Movement - and the connection between artists and athletes - Beijing will host 2008 Meet in Beijing Arts Festival to celebrate the achievements of athletes alongside the accomplishments of artists.

China Arts & Entertainment Group (CAEG) launches the Meet in Beijing Arts Festival every April to May. This year, under the direction of the Ministry of Culture, the festival has been postponed and expanded upon. It will start on June 23, International Olympics Day, and run until mid-September. "Sports, culture and education are the three main ideas of Coubertin, who is both a sport and arts administrator. 

The Beijing Olympics Games is a rare party for Chinese people to communicate with friends from all over the world. And, of course, the cultural and art events are an important part of the party," says Ding Wei, assistant to the Minister of Culture. "With the principles of Olympism - peace, friendship and progress, Beijing will provide a platform for locals and visitors to share culture and arts with each other and celebrate the accomplishments of artists from all over the world," Ding says. "Arts and sports both are universal languages that bridge people from different countries and backgrounds. I believe the cultural events will create a magic and harmonious atmosphere for the Olympic Games," says Zhang Yu, general manager of China Arts and Entertainment Group.

Some 260 shows ranging from music, dance and theater, and 160 exhibitions of visual arts from 80 countries, will run at the festival. Every year, the Meet in Beijing Arts Festival has a main guest country. This year, the focus will be on Greece, the birth country of the Olympic Games. At the Great Hall of the People on June 23, the festival will kick off with a ritual performance by some 40 Greek musicians and dancers along with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra and dancers from the Beijing Dance Academy. 

The show is directed by Lambros Liavas, artistic director of the Greek National Opera, and choreographed by Artemis Ignation, who created the flame-lighting ceremony for the Beijing Olympics. It is a theatrical version of how the Olympic flame was lit at the Temple of Hera in Olympia. "Traditional Greek music and Chinese music have much in common, for example they are all five-tone scales. I believe we can understand each other better and easier through music," says Liavas who is also a professor of musicology at the University of Athens, and the founder and director of the Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments.

Lumbini Festival

The Lumbini Festival is an annual festival held in the state of Andhra Pradesh that till date gives a platform and juncture to celebrate the heritage of Buddhism in the state.

The Festival is organized at the Nagarjunasagar dam, in Hyderabad.

Lumbini is the birth place of Gautam Buddha, the Guru behind Buddhism and is one of the most important Buddhist Pilgrimage Site.

The event is thus named after the place Lumbini, the birth place of Gautam Buddha.

The Festival is hugely popular in the state of Andhra Pradesh and lasts for three days. 

The Tourism Department of Andhra Pradesh organizes and plans the festival, its celebration, events, activities and other arrangements for thousands of tourists and pilgrims that gather here during this time.

Significance:

The Festival of Lumbini marks the importance of Buddhism as a religion to the state of Andhra Pradesh. The history traces back to 2000 years ago, when Buddhism was the only prevalent religion in the state. It is celebrated every year to observe the significance of Buddhism and celebrate the religion.

Celebration:

Lumbini is a remembrance throwing light on the rich heritage and culture of Buddhism. The three day long Festival normally involves remembering the teachings of Gautam Buddha in various forms and activities. The festival is relished with great grandeur and fun. Thousands of devotees from all around the world gather here in Hyderabad during the Lumbini Festival to honor the heritage of Buddhism in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Time of Celebration:

The Lumbini Festival is celebrated every year in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh to honor the significance and heritage of Buddhism. The festival is observed on one of the weekends lasting for three days in the month of December. The celebration generally starts from the second Friday of the month.

Lokranjan Festival

Lokranjan a tribal dance Festival is an extremely popular Festival held in Khajuraho Madhya Pradesh. The festival is organized by the Adivasi Lok Kala Academy. Lokranjan is generally organized during 8-12 December every year. The academy organizes the festival on behalf of the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation.

The festival of Lokranjan is an example of excellent efforts from the Government to preserve Indian Culture and art forms.

During the festival different dance forms are conducted on a single platform. Artists from all over India gather here and symbolize Cultural awareness.

Khajuraho, an ancient town of Chandel dynasty is famous for its architecture and sculpture all over the world.

The monuments at Khajuraho have been listed in the UNESCO’s World Heritage sites.

One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous for their erotic sculpture.

How to Reach KHAJURAHO:

By Air –

A daily Boeing 737 service links Khajuraho with Delhi, Agra, Varanasi and Kathmandu.

By Rail – 

The nearest railheads are Mahoba (64 km) and Harpalpur (94 km). Jhansi (175 km) and Satna (117 km) are convenient railheads for visitors from Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Agra and Varanasi.

By Road –

Khajuraho is connected by regular bus services with Mahoba, Harpalpur, Satna, Jhansi, Gwalior, Agra, Jabalpur and Bhopal. 

Karthigai Deepam

Karthigai Deepam is the popular festival of southern part of India and is the oldest festival with splendid and elaborated celebrations all over the state of Tamil Nadu. The festival is also termed as “Festival of Lights” and is also considered the extension of Deepavali Festival. 

Legend

Once upon a time the Devas, the heavenly immortals, put in their best possible efforts to have a complete Darshan of Lord Shiva.

During this process Lord Brahma took the form of a swan and Lord Vishnu in the form of a boar conducted an extensive search in the sky and in the neither world did they find him.

Lord Shiva asked Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu to find out the exact location of his head and his feet.

Since Lord Shiva took a gigantic form, they were not able to find him anywhere. Then Lord Shiva appeared before them in the form of a flaming light whose ends cannot be defined on the hill of Thiruvannamalai. Therefore, this festival is also known as Annamalai Deepam. Here, a special torch is lighted on the zenith of the hill and it is believed that Lord Shiva's Jyoti will be visible on this day. The festival is celebrated in a special manner in Thiruvannamalai.

Lord Muruga took the form of six babies in a lake called "Saravana Poigai". On this day, Parvati (his mother) united all his six forms and so Lord Muruga has six faces. Special pujas are performed to Lord Muruga on this day.

Antiquity

Karthigai Deepam is the oldest festivals celebrated in Tamil Nadu and Southern India, even before Deepavali and Navarathri celebrations. The reference of Karthigai Deepam can be found in many ancient Tamil literatures like ‘Ahananuru’ (200 B.C. to 300 A.D.) ‘Tolkappiyam' that dates back to 2,000 or 2,500 BC, 'Jeevakachintamani', an epic written by Jain poet, Thiruthakka Thevar, in the Sangam period, 'Karnarpadu', 'Kalavazhi Narpadu' dating around 1,000 BC and 'Pazhamozhi', even the famous poetess Avaiyyar, also mentions about the festival in her literary work.

Karthigai Deepam: Extension of Deepavali

Karthigai Deepam is also called the festival of lights and believed to be extension of Deepavali Festival as many families practice the trend of doubling the number of lamps every day from the day of Deepavali till the festival day of Karthigai Deepam and thus the large number of blazing lamps offers a captivating manifestation during the night.

Like Deepavali, there is general practice of cleaning houses and decking up houses beautifully with stunning illuminations and multihued 'Kolams' or Rangoli. People place lamps or Agal in their puja room and place them at different places in the house after the completion of 'Deeparathana' (puja). The streets provide visual treat on this festival with lamps all around.

Celebrations

Karthigai Deepam is the major festival of Tamil Nadu and is also referred as Annamalai Deepam. The festival is celebrated for nine auspicious days with each day having its own special importance. There are special celebrations organized at Arunachaleswarar Temple amidst Annamali Hills in Thiruvannamalai.

The celebrations begin with the flag hoisting on the Uttradam day and the festivity continues for nine days. The popular Bharani Deepam in five ’agantams’ is lit in Arunachaleswarar’s Sannithi in early morning hours of the tenth day. Devotees move to the Annamali Hills to worship the Bharani Deepam on the final day of the festival. It is believed that the flame of the lamp does not sputter on this day and divulge into the form of Lord Muruga, reaching up to the sky.

The Bharani Deepam is actually a colossal circular metal vessel with a capacity to hold about 2,000 liters of ghee, a height of five and half feet and diameter of five feet. The wick of the lamp itself is made up of 30m of 'Ghada' cloth burnt using 2 kilos of camphor. It is claimed that on the night of 'Karthigai Pournami', when the lamp is lit it can be seen across an area of 35km around the shrine.

In the evening, the Pancha Murthis are brought to the Katchi Mandapam. At dusk (Pradosham), with the Karthigai day harmonizing with full moon day, the deity, Ardhanareeswarar, is taken in a grand procession on the decorated vehicle to this place with the five deepams, which are put in a big receptacle near the flag staff. At the same time, the guiding light on the hill is lit and huge crowd raise cry in a loud voice "Annamalaikku Arogara." It is a sight for the Gods! The lighting of the beacon on the top of the hill is the finale of ten days of merriment in the town. 

Time for celebration

The festival of Lights, Karthigai Deepam is observed in the month of November or December. The burning lamp with the divine flame is considered an auspicious symbol and believed to fend off evil forces and escort ecstasy and prosperity.

According to Tamil calendar the festival falls in the Tamil month of Karthigai. Karthigai Deepam is celebrated on the full moon day f the Karthigai month which coincides with the Krithigai Star. Even the name Karithigai of this month was also derived on the basis of the name of the star Krithigai. The month of Karthigai is of special importance as it is believed that Lord Muruga, the divine light of Lord Shiva, took his form during this month.

World AIDS Day

Introduction

World AIDS Day, observed on December 1 each year, is a day when people around the world raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and assert their duties and responsibilities with a view to increasing human cooperation and possible homogeneous correspondence between the mass and HIV affected people so that individuals and organizations come together to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic and introduce ways concerning how affects of AIDS can be treated, how further spread of HIV can be prevented and how the world can ensure that a similar pandemic never occur again.

The aim of the World AIDS Day is to bring people’s attention to the worldwide challenges and consequences of the epidemic in order to create change. World Aids Day was initiated following a summit of Health Ministers in London (1988). In the meeting, the leaders realized that a united global effort was required to check the spread of HIV and AIDS.

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The World AIDS Day provides Governments, national AIDS programmes, welfare organizations, community organizations and individuals an opportunity to focus on the global AIDS epidemic.

Each year a theme is chosen to highlight different aspects of the problem and ways in which different groups of people are affected by HIV.

What is AIDS?

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is caused by a retrovirus known as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which infects cells of the human immune system, destroying or impairing their function. 

This disease has no early symptoms but as the infection spreads, the immune system becomes weaker and weaker, and the infected person becomes more vulnerable to diseases.

The highly advanced stage of HIV infection is known as Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). It can take 10-15 years for an HIV-infected person to develop AIDS; antiretroviral drugs can slow down the process even further. 

Mode of Transmission

HIV is transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse, transfusion of contaminated blood, sharing of contaminated needles, and between a mother and her infant during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding.

 The AIDS DAY in India

 It was in 1986, when the first AIDS case was detected in India. After the detection of AIDS, the Government of India took a decision to set up the National AIDS Committee in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to combat the epidemic.

The National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) was established in 1992-99 after the launch of the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP).

Initially, the research for HIV infections was carried out only among the children. But, gradually this notion was demolished completely which resulted in the involvement of research activities among people coming from any strata of life irrespective of age, sex and nationality.

On the World AIDS Day, officials from the Government and other NGOs wear the red ribbon, the global symbol of AIDS/ HIV awareness and distribute condoms among the people.

AIDS can be defined as an evil for our society and we have to combat this evil through the weapons of knowledge, care, respect and dignity for the HIV-infected persons. People suffering from this disease are not untouchable and they have equal rights to live in this society.

Tokhu Emong

Tokhu Emong is a post harvest festival of Lotha Tribe in Nagaland. The festival is celebrated for nine days with lots of enthusiasm and fun as this festival brings the time to rejoice the fruit of hard work with the end of labor period of harvesting.

Celebration

The nine day long festival creates the dazzling ambience all around with excited people dressed in their best traditional attire with the common feeling of unity and brotherhood.
 

Tokhu Emong festival is the time to show gratitude towards each other, all people come together for celebration forgiving past animosity and bitterness.

The festival is marked by preparing delicious delicacies and inviting all friends and relatives for feast, where all people enjoy to the extreme by dining, singing and dancing together.

There is also trend of exchanging gifts of food and drinks as a token of love and friendship.

Time to Celebrate

Festivity of Tokhu Emong Festival of Lotha tribe begins on 7th of November every year. The date of the festival was not fixed earlier but later a common date for celebration was set by Wokha elders in order to strengthen unity among the community members. Every year the celebration of nine day long festival starts from November 7.

Shamlaji Fair

The Shamlaji Temple is a very famous and worshipped temple which stands on the banks of the river Meshwo, in veneration of Lord Vishnu. A number of devotees gather during the month of November to be a part of this great cultural spectacle called Shamlaji fair that lasts for about three weeks.

Devotees are seen coming on foot, on camel and other means singing and dancing to participate in this fair. Many people are seen carrying flags, banners with their sacred symbols on them. During the Fair one of the main attractions of the devotees lies in taking sacred bathe in the river Meshwo, on the banks of which Shamlaji Temple is situated. They also offer prayers to the deity.

Around 2 lakh tourists attend the fair, especially from Gujarat and Rajasthan. The Fair is extremely significant for the Bhils community among the Adiwasis, as they are faithfully dedicated to Lord Shamlaji who they lovingly refer to as Kaliyo Dev (Dark Divinity).

The Shamlaji Fair also becomes an extremely important destination for the trading community as people engage in buying silver ornaments, metal ware, cloth and garments, along with many other annual household items.

History:

There are three legends behind the creation of this temple.

1. Lord Brahma once went on a journey to find out the best tirtha (sacred site) on the earth. After seeing and visiting a number of places, he came to Shamlaji, which he liked the most and performed penance there for a thousand years. Lord Shiva, pleased with him, asked him to perform a yajna (ritual). At the beginning of the yajna, Lord Vishnu manifested himself in the form of Shamlaji, and was enshrined at this place.
2. According to the Second story Vishwakarma, the architect of the Gods, constructed this temple in one night, but as it was morning by the time he completed it, he could not take it with him and had to return leaving it here.
3. Another legend has it, that an Adivasi found the idol of Lord Shamlaji while ploughing his land. He worshipped it by lighting a lamp everyday and was blessed for his faith by having an abundant yield in his farm. Hearing about this, a Vaishnava merchant built the temple and installed the idol therein, which was later beautified by the Idar rulers. Recently, a prominent business family has further renovated this temple.

Shamlaji temple:

The temple of Shamlaji is situated on the banks of river Meshwo and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Sakshi Gopal or Gadadhar is a black representation of Lord Vishnu, worshipped in this shrine. The river Meshwo is seen splashing water and waving through the valley just below the temple. During the fair and otherwise the waters of the river Meshwo is considered very holy as numbers of devotees take a dip whenever they come here.

The shrine of Shamlaji is believed to be about 500 yrs old and is beautifully crafted. The complete temple is a two stories building that has episodes and teachings of Mahabharata engraved on the outer walls.

Shamlaji:

The Shamlaji Fair is held at Shamlaji in the district of Sabarkantha. The district is located near the border between Rajasthan and Gujarat. The town is located 122 Kms from Ahmedabad.

Time of celebration:

The Shamlaji fair is a very important and widely celebrated fair in the state of Gujarat. It is observed in the month of November and lasts for about three weeks. According to the Hindu calendar, it falls in the month of kartik. Kartik Purnima (Full moon night) is the most important day for the fair.

Dates in Upcoming Years:

13th to 21stNovember 2010 (Wed-Sun)

06th to 10thNovember 2011 (Sun-Thu)

24th to 28thNovember 2012 (Sat-Wed)

13th to 17thNovember 2013 (Wed-Sun)