By Latha Sambamurti

This year’s Ananda Mela (Joyful Festival of India) will be on July 29-30 at Redmond City Hall, 15670 N.E. 85th St. Now in its eighth year, the festival will be held from noon to 9 p.m. each day, and is free and suitable for all ages.

Ananda Mela is one of the biggest festivals of Indian art and culture on the West Coast, and is the largest cultural festival in Redmond, with around 25,000 attendees expected over the weekend. It is organized by the Vedic Cultural Center (VCC) in Sammamish, whose mission is to preserve and promote traditional Indian arts, culture, cuisine, languages and literature.

“Our collaboration with the City of Redmond in presenting Ananda Mela continued to gather strength,” said festival president Harry Terhanian. “This year we will have a special exhibit on Vedic (traditional) village, a fully self-sustaining and environment-friendly community. The theme of the Vedic village is ancient wisdom for modern sustainability.”

There will also be a cow protection display showcasing the cow, explaining why it’s respected in India. Economic prosperity and spiritual welfare are based upon the protection of the cow.

This year’s festival attractions include two international musical acts. On Saturday, The Mayapuris, musicians and dancers from Utah, will be performing from 6-9 p.m. On Sunday, audiences will be treated to a fusion of Punjabi folk dances (including bhangra) and Bollywood songs and dance by DJ Anjali and the Incredible Kid from Portland from 5-7 p.m.

There will also be the Aloha Bhangra Dance Contest for audience members dancing during the prime time show on Sunday. The grand prize is a free two-night vacation for two to Hawaii.

The Mayapuris will perform again from 7-8:30 p.m. on Sunday.

There are two stages on which varieties of music and dance performances will be happening continuously.

The festival will feature several interesting contests for various age groups such as cooking contest, chess contest, general knowledge quiz contest, Indian epic quiz, Henna contest, workshop on making clay Ganesha, Rangoli contest and so on.

For youngsters, there will be inflatables, bouncies, magic shows, performances and various contests.

Finally, there will be shopping, vegetarian Indian food, henna and displays on Indian art, culture and philosophy.

In addition to providing the venue, the city also provides staffing for the event for a fee (paid for by VCC), and assists with publicity and overall festival planning through collaborative work ahead of the festival.

This year’s Ananda Mela is also supported by grants from 4Culture and from ExperienceRedmond.com.

For more information, visit www.anandamela.org or www.facebook.com/VCCFestivals.

Latha Sambamurti is artistic director of Ananda Mela and Washington State Arts commissioner.