3rd Annual Basant Mela 2019 (with Photos and Video)
Edmonton is known as the Festival city of North America in other words for us Desi’s, it’s the city of Mela’s (Fair’s). Desi Events in Edmonton cater to South Asians living in Edmonton and open to everyone. One such event that took place this past weekend was the 3rd Annual Basant Mela 2019 held at Pakistan Canada Association of Edmonton (PCAE) Hall, Edmonton (#yeglocal). The event was attended by hundreds of Edmontonion’s from diverse cultural groups including Local Businessman, Influencers and MLA’s.
(Also See: All Desi Events in Edmonton)
What is Basant Mela?
Mela in literal words is “gathering” or “to meet” or a “fair”. and Basant is the Spring season so Basant Mela is essentially a Spring Fair. Historically, it is a time where people in the South Asian subcontinent celebrated Spring and has several names Vasant Panchami, Basant Panchami, Sarawasti Puja and is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Muslims. It is celebrated in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Java and Bali (Indonesia).
This particular 3rd Annual Basant Mela 2019 was organized by Rubab and Shahina and saw many clothing, jewellery and other accessory vendors displaying their creations, several food stalls that offered traditional and fusion Pakistani dishes. They also had Kite-flying for all age groups, Fashion Walk, Face Painting and Lucky Draws for people who attended the event.
The free event was sponsored by local Edmonton Desi businesses: Kitting Club, House of Travel & Tourism, Chutney, Realtor Nasir Mahmood, THR Henna, Almari Boutique, Millwoods Grocery & Halal Meat.
(Also See: All Desi Events in Edmonton)