Janmashtami 2024 Festival Volunteer Team.

Inspired by the Sri Sri Radha Kalachandji temple in Dallas and with the blessings of senior Vaishnavas, an expanding community of devotees from North Dallas, Texas, recently kicked off a new project to construct a grand Hare Krishna temple named “Gita Mandir” in the heart of Frisco, TX, an area of the state that has seen phenomenal growth.

On September 7, 2024, devotees from various North Dallas areas, including, but not limited to, Frisco, Little Elm, Plano, McKinney, Prosper, Allen, and Aubrey, joined hands to celebrate the 3rd Annual Janmashtami festival in an effort to extend Lord Sri Krishna’s blessings to North Dallas residents. 

The event was graced by several dignitaries, including Nityananda Das, a disciple of HH Tamal Krishna Goswami, Gopal (Frisco ISD board of trustees), Anand Bhai (India Bazaar president), and Mahesh (Fun Asia). Each of the special guests appreciated the event and expressed their solidarity and support for the cause of Gita Mandir. Nityananda Das gave the keynote talk highlighting the importance of the Janmashtami festival. Also, he encouraged everyone to be part of the upcoming Gita Mandir temple initiative. 

Over 1,200 people attended the event, an unprecedented turnout, including those who drove from long distances just to be part of the festival. The volunteers prepared complimentary dinner prasadam (sanctified vegetarian food) for all the guests.

The event included a grand Jhulan (swing) adorned with beautiful garlands and ornaments for Sri Sri Chota Radha Govind ji, which allowed all the guests to swing the deities as an expression of love and devotion to the Lordships. 

About 140 young artists from 13 groups of art and music schools enthusiastically offered stage performances, including ancient Vedic cultural dance shows, breathtaking fusion beats dance on Vedic themes, a spiritual pastime skit, carnatic vocals, an Odissi dance, and many more. The audience sincerely appreciated the hard work and finesse of these performances.

The devotee youth, well trained in vocal and musical instruments such as harmonium, cymbals, and mrdanga, enraptured the audience with melodious Hare Krishna Maha Mantra kirtans towards the beginning, middle, and end of the event. 

Several other activities were planned to engage the audience, including a snack booth, a kids’ coloring space, vendor booths, Spiritual books, and a Q&A. The generous support of various well-wishers and sponsors made the event possible. 

The organizers are very grateful to Grand sponsors Phani Karra and his family; Annadan sponsors- Sarvajaya Madhava Das, India Bazaar and Lakshmi Narayanan Ramanujam; Gold and Kalash sponsors, vendor booth sponsors, souvenir sponsors, aratik sponsors, and many more. 

This event was a testament to the concerted effort of 100+ devotees who worked tirelessly and selflessly over the past several weeks until the final wrap-up only to serve Srila Prabhupada and the entire disciplic succession of Vaishnava Acaryas while expressing their gratitude to contemporary ISKCON leaders. The organizers sincerely hope that they were able to provide a wholesome spiritually uplifting experience to guests of all age groups. 

The next big event planned for the year is the Govardhan Puja celebrations in early Nov 2024. Please visit their website to learn more about the Hare Krishna temple project in Frisco, TX.