NAPERVILLE, IL, July 9, 2015: Indian Community Outreach and The City of Naperville will be host to a grand India Day Parade and Celebration on August 16, 2015 to mark the 69th anniversary of India’s independence. Several thousand people from Chicago and the suburbs are expected to attend the event which will be held at Center Street and Central Park, Naperville. In addition, Naperville will continue its tradition of celebrating India’s Independence Day by raising US & India’s Flag on August 15th at Naperville Municipal Center.
The India Day Parade will serve as a showcase of India’s rich and diverse culture, with several floats organized by Indian cultural, business and political organizations. Spectators will be treated to a rich variety of Indian cuisine, ethnic arts, apparel, and jewelry. This event has the distinction of being the first India Day Parade backed by any city in Midwest America.
The event has been organized by the Indian Community Outreach Organization (“ICO”) in association with the Alliances of Midwest Indian Association and the City of Naperville. ICO is a non-partisan and a not for profit organization whose mission is to preserve and promote the cultural heritage and contributions of Indian Americans while promoting their integration in the growth of Naperville. It’s chairman Krishna Bansal has been appointed by, and reports to the Mayor of Naperville.
Bansal said he and his team are excited to have the ICO organize this pioneering event. “Indian Americans are now a significant part of Naperville’s population in both numbers and impact,” he said. The community, which saw a dramatic grown since the nineties, now comprise ten percent of the suburb’s total population. Moreover, with the recent influx of information technology workers and other professionals from India, over 70 percent are first-generation immigrants.
Several South Asian community leaders, restaurants, businesses, and cultural organizations have come forward to support the event. While Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico and Consul General of India will be chief guest, Mayor Emeritus George Pradel will be the Parade, Marshal. Among the other dignitaries attending are the state and local elected representatives and prominent leaders of the Naperville community.
Nimish Bhatt, Vice Chairman of ICO explained that parade will begin at Center St and 4th Ave in Naperville at 2PM while the celebration will be at Naperville Central Park demonstrating outstanding performances. While providing an outline of the event, he emphasized this to be an excellent opportunity for local businesses and groups to partner, participate and gain visibility. Flag raising ceremony will be at the Naperville Municipal Center on August 15th from 9AM to 10AM.
The parade may be seen as a symbol of the rapid growth of the Indian American community in the Chicago suburbs. From 1990 to 2000, Indian-Americans became the largest Asian ethnic group in Illinois, according to data from the last census. Demographers and Indian community leaders say they expect that the figures will increase even more as highly educated Indians continue to fill jobs in the computer industry and change the face of the suburbs.
Naperville ranked as one of the most desirable American cities for a family, is home to more than 10,000 Indian-Americans, making it the suburb with the largest & growing population of the community in the area outside Chicago. Indian-Americans have been contributing greatly in the field of business, medicine, information technology and as the leaders of large corporations.
Additional information about the parade and celebration including applications to participate in the parade and celebrations as well as sponsorships is available on our web site www.indiancommunityoutreach.org. We encourage everyone to visit and review our website.