Kalachandji’s Hare Krishna Temple of Dallas, Texas, will conduct its annual “Jagannatha Ratha Yatra” Parade and Festival on Saturday, April 25th, 2009. The parade will leave from the front of the Temple at 1:00 p.m. from the front of the Temple which is located at 5430 Gurley Avenue, near 1-30 and East Grand Avenue.

This event celebrates a remarkable story from the ancient scriptures of India, where the Lord of the Universe, Jagannatha (also known as Lord Sri Krishna) is placed on a huge cart and is pulled back to His childhood home by His dear-most servants. This same festival has been celebrated in India for thousands of years where it annually attracts millions of devotees. This festival is also celebrated in major cities all over the world (New York, Los Angeles, London, etc.) every year by the Hare Krishna devotees.

The Dallas parade will leave from the front of Kalachandji’s Hare Krishna Temple and proceed through the streets of East Dallas. The large, colorful cart will be lavishly decorated, with the faithful pulling the cart by ropes. In addition, devotees will be singing devotional songs (kirtan) and dancing alongside the cart throughout the parade.

The parade will end at 3:30 p.m.. in Kalachandji’s Park, which is located next to the temple grounds, and a festival will be held until 9:00 p.m. The festival will include a free vegetarian feast from Kalachandji’s restaurant, stage entertainment, traditional Indian and Western music, dance, and drama, children’s activities, and lots more. There will be a special guest speaker, His Holiness Giriraja Swami Maharaja, an internationally respected teacher of the Hare Krishna Movement.