Some of us have been wanting to field a KutchValley float in the Indian Independence Day Parade which happens in Fremont around Aug 15th weekend. Some of you have privately supported the idea in your talks with me.
This year we did some research and contacted the organizers and other float associations like (Rajasthan Association) to get an approximate cost. The organizers invited us to attend the meeting of all float participants but unfortunately we were unable to go. They also offered some funds to offset some of the cost of a float.
The cost of a float as per Rajasthan Association is :
Truck Rental about $300
Generator about $100
Carpenter Work $250 (could be free if you have access to a volunteer carpenter enthusiast)
Handyman $200
Other Material $200
Food for volunteer $250
I have been to these Indian Independence Day Parades earlier but this year I went to see the parade again to get a current state of affairs view. The actual parade has now dwindled down. Not as many floats as before. Maybe around 8-10 states were there. Gujarat was missing. The floats were also moving very very slowly. This was due to bad planning by the organizers. So the participants had to be in sun for 2 -3 hours since there is so much wait involved everywhere.
There were 2 organizations who did not have a float. They just had a banner and the dressup. So if we want to lower our cost of participation we can always take this route. Instead of a float we can have Kutchis dressed up in traditional wear and performing some Garba or something with a live Dholi. In order to prepare for Parade though we will have to start accumulating some “Kutch” type things from India. A Banner “Kutchis of Northen America” or similar would be needed too. Other banners could be “Kutch Nahi Dekha Toh Kuch Nahi Dekha”, etc. Decorative umbrellas could be used to provide shade to KVites. Could also acquire some cheap Kutch souvenirs to be distributed to the spectators.
Our participation next year is still not sure. But each year we do progress a bit towards it. :-). Hopefully it will happen.