Enjoy a multicultural Indian parade and festival with live music, classical dance, books, and lots of free delicious vegetarian food. The Ratha Yatra Parade is the oldest known parade in the world.

On Saturday, April 15th, the Parade begins at 9:30 AM at the Plaza de la Constitucion and returns at 11 AM. A mantra meditation will be held in the Plaza from 10:30 AM to 3 PM.

Free lunch is served from 12-1 PM.  At 1:30 PM there will be a two-hour-long procession down St. George Street without the Chariot.

All are welcome.  Free admission.

The procession route is about 2 miles long and can be easily walked by all age groups.  It begins at 9:30 AM at the Plaza and returns to the same location. The parade will move in a leisurely fashion, stopping here and there along the route, giving way to song and dance. The procession’s unique feature is a huge chariot with a blue, red, and yellow canopy decorated with swans, lotus flowers, flags, Hanuman, and a brass chakra on top.

This chariot has two very thick ropes attached to it that are over one hundred feet long. These ropes are pulled by the parade-goers, propelling the chariot along the parade route.  Riding on the Chariot are the beautiful Deities of Jagannath, Baladeva, and Subhadra, decorated with stunning silk outfits & real flowers.  It’s a vision from another world.  Accompanying the procession is lively Indian music and dancing, backed by double-headed mridanga drums & karat ala hand cymbals.  It’s an ecstatic, exciting event.

The festival is sponsored by ISKCON Alachua, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness whose Founder/Acharya, His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, came to America from India over fifty years ago and introduced the timeless tradition of the Festival of the Chariot (called Ratha Yatra in India).  Since the 60s this festival has been held yearly in over 100 major cities in the United States, Canada, and all over the world.  Nine Ratha Yatras are held yearly in the state of Florida:  Clearwater, Jacksonville Beach, Tallahassee, UCF Orlando, Tampa, UF Gainesville, Daytona Beach, Miami & St. Augustine.

All are warmly invited to attend this joyous, colorful festival, free of charge. Take advantage of a rare chance to experience the vibrancy of India, right here in Florida.