More than 50,000 people are expected to attend Sunday’s annual India Day Festival and Grand Parade. 

The event, now in its 19th year, was so big that last year it had to be moved to Nathan Phillips Square from Yonge-Dundas Square after being told it had outgrown its prior location, said Dinesh Bhatia, India’s Consul General. 

“When they went to book out Yonge-Dundas Square, the city of Toronto said, ‘Look, you are too big for Yonge-Dundas Square, you have to shift to Nathan Phillips Square,’” Bhatia said. “ And last year in the evening, when Toronto police gave us the participation numbers, they said there were 60,000 people participating in the whole day.” 

The event celebrates Indian culture, heritage, and Independence Day, which occurs Aug. 15, and will consist of food, vendors, cultural programs, and Bollywood singers and celebrities. 

It will also include a parade, which will have 20 floats this year.  It will start at Nathan Phillips Square on Queen St. W, and make a complete square going from Queen St. W, west to University Ave.,  north to Dundas St., east to Yonge St. and south back to Queen St.

Bollywood celebrities Jimmy Shergill and Malkit Singh, among others, will be present for the big day. 

The festival will also include music and dance performances, a kids’ zone, and an international bazaar with 100 kiosks exhibiting fashion, jewelry, crafts, and traditional Indian cuisine. 

Bhatia said there are other, smaller festivals that take place across the country, but this is the main Canadian event for India Day. 

“Of course, in U.S. they do the similar parades in New York and San Francisco, but last year, we became the largest parade,” Bhatia said. 

Bhatia said he would like to invite everyone to come out to participate in the festivities.  He said several political dignitaries from all levels of government will be attending, as they’ve done in past years. 

For more information, people can check out organizer Panorama India’s website. 

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Clare Rayment is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto.  Follow her on Twitter: @clare_rayment

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