NRI PULSE NEWS DESK

Over 15,000 people attended the Global Mela during the Epic 2-Day event held on Saturday, October 2nd & Sunday, October 3rd, 2010. Sponsored by the Global Mall and Legacy Jewels, the Global Mela was a huge success with over 35 booth vendors from all walks of life and crowds in the thousands, making it the largest mela Global Mall has held in the past eight years. The goal of instilling the rich Indian culture in all of the Global Mela attendees was achieved through the many culturally enriching activities and programs planned based around the theme “Roadtrip through South Asia”. So why was Global Mela so enticing that it brought the entire community out to the Global Mall and became the largest free carnival event the South Asian community has held in the Southeast?

The two-day Mela had fun planned out in every corner of the Global Mall, inside and out. The parking lot was set up with giant inflatable rides where the kids bounced around the entire weekend in the perfect fall weather. People were welcomed by the aroma of mouth watering Indian food provided by Ashiana Restaurant as they walked into Global Mall. On the second floor the fun continued with 35 booth vendors setup through out the hallways of the mall ranging from food, retail, services and non-profit organizations, providing something for everyone. Global Mall and Legacy Jewels sponsored a hand full of free activities and food including face painting, balloon artists, creation stations with sand art & spin art, cotton candy, popcorn & snow cones! Ruby Beauty Salon had set up free mehndi, Global Groceries was serving delicious pani puri and chat, Bhojanic served biryani and the food court was bustling with crowds all day. 

DJ Bobby and his team made the mall come alive with “dhamake-dar” music and beats all weekend. The combination of DJ Bobby and Live Dhol Player Sameet brought the crowds together in the center of mall, dancing and doing bhangra every hour both days of the event. The Global Mall family and volunteers welcomed all Global Mela guests at the top of the stairs with free raffle tickets and a gift from behalf of the mall. Global Mall and Legacy Jewels sponsored huge raffle prizes this year, including an Ipod, a BlueRay DVD Player & a Plasma TV. Ladlee Clothing Boutique sponsored over 100 free raffle items ranging from beautiful kurtis, salwar kameezs to jewelry for all ages! And many of the Global Mall stores sponsored free gifts and gift certificates, including Mumbai Masala, Chinese Dhaba, Curry on the Go, Nokshi Boutique, Maya Creations, B4U Music, Ruby Beauty Salon, Sangi’s Beauty Salon & Photography by Vinod. The DJ Booth was rushed by crowds to win one of these many free raffle items. 

Special free events were planned to entertain the families visiting the mela including a Magic Show on Saturday afternoon, followed by Garba-Raas hosted by Gujarati Samaj and Global Mall on Saturday evening in the Ashiana Banquet Hall. The attendees enjoyed doing garba and raas and for those who were new to garba had the opportunity to learn from the Global Mall volunteer teachers, Sonny Molu & Vandana Aggarwal. The second day offered yet another fun filled event, the Global Mela Cultural Show that featured dances, songs and musicians from both academies inside Global Mall, such as Nritya Natya Kala Bharti, Prem’s Studio of Performing Arts & Swarnaad School of Music along with local young artists that all entertained the jammed packed audience! 

Global Mela has been getting larger and larger every year and this year was the biggest yet with over 15,000 guests over the weekend and everyone that attended knows this is far from an exaggerated number. The event was such a success that Global Mall parking lot was full every moment of the entire weekend. “Global Mall is holding the Global Mela to bring the whole community together without any cover charges. This is our way of thanking the community for supporting Global Mall and our Indian cultural center. We are looking forward to the future support and events” states Global Mall’s owner, Mr. Shiv Aggarwal. He established the Global Mall in 2001 in order to bring the Southeast South Asian community together under one roof in a unique community center. Global Mall nine years later is now much more than just a traditional shopping mall, it is a learning center with dance studios, art classes, tutoring schools and yoga and mediation centers, an entertainment center with banquet halls and game rooms, a place to find all services in the executive suites, and of course there is delicious food and retail shops of all kinds. It has become a destination community center for the entire nation and Shiv Aggarwal is continuing to work hard to bring together more than just the South Asian populations under one roof; Global Mall’s goal is to now bring together communities from around the world together to experience and learn about our rich culture. 

“The Global Mela’s success this year rests on the support of the media, tenants, Global Mall’s staff and many volunteers” say Aarti & Vandana Aggarwal, the Global Mela coordinators. Shiv Aggarwal thanked the media sponsors for their continued support with special thanks to T.V. Asia, India Tribune, Wownow.com, Atlanta Dunia, NRI Pulse, Khabar, Saathee, Desh Videsh, JanDarpan and Garavi Gujarat. “In addition, we would like to extend out appreciation to Vinod Devlia from Photography by Vinod for capturing the event & the Global Mall staff, especially Doc McAlpine and Mayoor Patel for helping this event run smoothly” add Aarti & Vandana. “On behalf of everyone in the Global Mall Family, they would like to thank everyone for attending and participating in the Global Mela and are already in preparations for next year’s 10th Anniversary Celebration of Global Mall,” they added. For more information about the mall and to view photos from the event please visit www.amsglobalmall.com or the Facebook Page for Global Mall.


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