It’s that time of the year again. Tamil Fest 2019 is just a couple of weeks away and the excitement is surreal. This is my second time working as the Production Coordinator for Tamil Fest and the experience seems to get better and better.
Kicking off in August 2015, Tamil Fest has become the largest Tamil festival outside of the South Asian subcontinent and the largest street festival outside the Downtown Toronto core. It draws that attention of people all over the world and has really made a trademark in the past 4 years. 2019 being its fifth year, we are working to make this one bigger and better than ever before.
My experience of working for Tamil Fest has really been great. Be it the amazing team, tasteful food, entertainment or significance for culture, it has absolutely been a mind-blowing experience. The best part about this job is not just the two-day festival but also the months that lead up to it. As a team, we put in a lot of hard work and effort to make the two days a memorable experience for everyone that attends the festival. A lot of planning goes into making the event successful and nothing makes the work easier than having a supporting team that sticks strong together. I am delighted to be working on the production aspect of the festival and each year I keep learning many new things. My favorite part about my role is meeting different people that bring forward some amazing skills and talents.
Tamil Fest is all about showcasing great talent and providing a platform for Tamil Artists across the globe. Being a performer myself, I have always admired in the inclusion of artists from different fields of performing arts and the effort the team puts into showcasing our culture. This year, we will be having a parade at the festival in light of the University of Toronto Tamil Chair Campaign. A few examples of traditional dances one can witness at the parade are Oyilattam, Bharathanatyam, Kaavadiattam, Silamabattam and many more. Along with dance, we have therukuthu, villu paatu and many other traditional performing arts that we do not get a chance to see on a regular basis.
Do a lot of these dance forms sound new to you? Look no further and make sure you come out to Tamil Fest 2019 on August 24th and 25th. It’s going to be the one and only place where you can eat fruitful palmyras, drink some refreshing young coconuts and learn endless information about the Tamil culture. You don’t want to miss this.
For more information about how you can involved and information about the festival please visit tamilfest.ca
