Masala SACE
Throughout the past 4 years, I have been actively involved in my college’s South Asian Cultural Exchange group. As a part of the executive board, I have had the opportunity of leading many campus wide events all while educating students on the significance of the events we celebrate. Below you will find a few of the events that we hold annually, and how we engage and attract students to come.
Bollywood Fusion Night
Similar to America’s Hollywood, India has something called “Bollywood” that produces many Indian movies but also music. In order to celebrate this culture, we hosted the first ever Bollywood Dance Night in Spring of 2019, and because we had such a great success and turnout, we decided to host another one in Fall 2019, as a “Back to School” event. We provided Indian music, Indian snacks, a photo booth, and fun!
Dashain (Nepali Festival)
This festival signifies the triumph of virtue over vice with the blessings of a Hindu Goddess Durga. This is usually celebrated for 10 days in India and Nepal. Every year we have this celebration for our club members, where we do the religious ceremony and then host traditional games and food.
Diwali
Diwali is known as the festival of lights and the victory of good over evil. It is celebrated traditionally with 5 days of good foods, new clothing, and spiritual ceremonies. Every year at Agnes, Diwali is our biggest event. In 2019 we had the biggest turnout of about over 170+ people.
Chinese Lunar New Years
This is another one of our annual festivals that we celebrate. This festival marks the beginning of a new Chinese year. We celebrate by inviting cultural performers that are also students, and playing traditional games.
Holi
Holi is a Hindu festival and it is known as the festival of color. It is majority celebrated in India and Nepal, but also by South East Asians all across the world. Holi is the celebration of the arrival of Spring and signifies new births and beginnings. It is played by throwing colors and water upon one another.
