Fylde Coast Hindu Society is throwing open its first Ganesh Festival to the whole community this month, with a free shared meal, traditional rituals and a procession.
The Fylde Coast will see its first Ganesh Festival on Friday 25 September, as Fylde Coast Hindu Society brings a Community Celebration & Visarjan to Kingscote Park and invites the whole area to take part.
The day begins at 10.30am with the traditional Ganesh Sthapna at 10.45am – the ceremony that welcomes the idol of Ganesh into the celebration. From 12.30pm until 3.30pm, the Society is putting on a free vegetarian meal open to anyone who wants to come along, with no charge and no need to be part of the Hindu community to attend.
At 5pm the celebration moves in procession from Kingscote Park to Stanley Park Lake, where the Ganesh Visarjan, the ceremonial immersion that closes the festival, takes place at around 6.15pm, using an idol made from natural clay and biodegradable paint.
While Ganesh Festival is rooted in Hindu faith and tradition, the Society is keen for this first Fylde Coast edition to be a celebration for everyone, whatever their background.
“Community cohesion is built when we create opportunities for people to actually meet one another. We can keep our roots and traditions while fully belonging to the place we call home.”
“Bringing Ganesh Festival to the Fylde Coast for the first time is a very proud moment for us, but what makes it truly special is being able to share it with the wider community,” says Chirag Khajuria, Chairman of Fylde Coast Hindu Society which is known for bringing its vibrant celebrations to the Comedy Carpet each summer, with the Indian Cultural Festival (pictured by Elizabeth Gomm).
“We don’t want to celebrate only within our own community. We want our neighbours and people from every background to come along, experience our traditions, ask questions and, most importantly, sit down and share a meal together.
“Community cohesion is built when we create opportunities for people to actually meet one another. We can keep our roots and traditions while fully belonging to the place we call home.”
Khajuria points to the Society’s guiding principle, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – “the world is one family” – as the idea behind opening the festival up in this way, hoping the free meal in particular gives residents a simple reason to meet people they might not otherwise cross paths with.
The festival is being delivered as part of Pride in Place, in partnership with Community First, with support from Blackpool & Fylde Street Angels, Blackpool Stanley Rugby Club and Enveco.
The first Fylde Coast Ganesh Festival – Community Celebration & Visarjan takes place on Friday 25 September, from 10.30am, at Kingscote Park, Blackpool. Ganesh Sthapna is at 10.45am, the free community meal runs 12.30pm-3.30pm, and the procession departs for Stanley Park Lake at 5pm ahead of the Visarjan at approximately 6.15pm. Admission is free and everyone is welcome.
