Esther Short — Indian Independence Day was celebrated for the first time in Esther Short Park on Aug. 15, when about 45 people gathered at the park’s gazebo to support Indian culture and feel a sense of community, even though India is more than 7,000 miles away.
Alkesh Patel hosted the event and used word-of-mouth to inform others in the Vancouver Indian community about the event. He hopes to have a weekend-long celebration in the future and wants it to grow in size.
Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt attended and spoke to the crowd. Leavitt said there may be talks about establishing a sister city somewhere in India.
