Ethnic Groups Stage New Year's Eve Parties

At least three galas are scheduled for New Year's Eve by ethnic groups in Indy:

The New Year's Eve Dance begins at 8 p.m. in the German-American Klub, 8602 South Meridian Street, Indianapolis. Sponsored by Die Fledermaeuschen Tanzgruppe, tickets are $15. For reservations, call 317:460-4270. There'll be dancing to the music of Jay Fox and the Bavarian Showtime Band. We will have fun, music, dancing, noisemakers, snacks and a champagne toast at midnight.

A family-centered New Year Celebration also begins at 8 p.m. in the India Community Center, Indianapolis. Sponsored by India Association of Indianapolis, tickets are $5 family, $2 individual. For more innformation, call Sumit Thaker: 317:374-7472.

A Multiethnic New Year's Eve Party takes place at the Latvian Community Center, 1008 West 64th Street, Indianapolis. Join the Latvians, Scots, Poles, Finns, Lithuanians and others for an international celebration.

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The Award Winners are Announced

Awards for the just-completed 2009 International Festival have been announced. First and second place awards are given to Nationalities Council of Indiana member-groups in each of five categories: theme, educational value, creativity, quality and food. In addition, the best overall culture booth received the grand prize trophy, nicknamed "The Betty".

Winners are as follows:

Creativity: 1st - Confucius Institute at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis; 2nd - India Association of Indianapolis.
Educational value: 1st - Indiana Association of Chinese Americans; 2nd - Italian Heritage Society of Indiana.
Quality: 1st - Sons of Norway; 2nd - Scottish Society of Indianapolis.
Theme: 1st - Taiwanese American Association of Indianapolis; 2nd - Swiss Club Of Central Indiana.
Food: 1st - Taiwanese American Association of Indianapolis; 2nd - German American Klub.
Best Overall Cultural Booth Trophy: Indiana German Heritage Society (pictured).

This year's Volunteer Service award (nicknamed "The Steve") went to Dan and Sophia Anderson.

The outside judges for the awards came from IUPUI.

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Year of the Ox Celebrated at Clowes in Indy

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Ganguly to Observe Elections in Bangladesh

Sumit Ganguly (pictured), director of the India Studies Institute, professor of political science and holder of the Rabindranath Tagore Professorship in Indian Cultures and Civilizations at Indiana University, will be an official observer of parliamentary elections for the People's Republic of Bangladesh on 29 December.

According to the IU News Bureau, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), an organization chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, invited Ganguly to be among 36 election experts, regional specialists and political leaders from Asia, Europe and North America.

"Faces of America" at IUPUI

"Faces of America" will be presented at 7 p.m. 27 August in the Madam Walker Theater, Indianapolis. Written entirely from interviews and workshops held across the country, it has been described as the first truly multicultural portrayal of Americans ever created.

It tells the stories of:

* a "Happa" (Japanese-Hungarian) who begins to understand her heritage through her grandfather's story of immigration and subsequent internment in the Japanese American war camps
* a young Latino seeks to challenge the stereotypes of coming from the barrio
* an East Indian American woman whose hope of living in a caste-free society is shattered by an on-campus hate crime
* an African-American man discusses the corollation of racism and socio-economics
* a young liberal white male fights against his father's bigotry and the notion of racism being a white disease
* a Filipina-American doctor learns the impact of patience and religious faith
* "Fuzzy", a mixed-blood, lesbian American whose revolutionary ideas will change the way you think and feel forever!

For more information contact Campus & Community Life, 317:274-3931. It's one of the "Weeks of Welcome" activities for students returning to classes at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

"Indians Indians" -- East Meets West in Indy

East meets West at the Garfield Park Arts Center, 2432 Conservatory Drive, Indianapolis, during a unique event beginning at 6 p.m. Friday (7 December).
The India Association of Indianapolis and the Arts Center will present a program combining artistic and cultural elements from Native American and Eastern Indian societies through a celebration of fine art, photography, regalia & customary dress, music and dance. The exhibit will feature works by renowned architect and artist K.P. Singh, contemporary Eastern Indian artist Gautam Rao, and cultural documentary photography by Chris Pehlivan. Enjoy a performance featuring world-renowned Miles Davis’ veteran tabla player Badal Roy (pictured) and former Paul Simon bandmember, flutist Steve Gorn. Native-American Pow-Wow dancers will join Eastern Indian musicians for a once-in-a-lifetime performance for the entire community. And, it's all open to the public at no charge!

Indy's International Cuisine

As Terry Kirts reports in the 25 July issue of NUVO Newsweekly, the best reason to get out your world atlas: new international cuisines:

"A good number of the recently opened eateries both downtown and elsewhere have been offering food from countries not already represented in the pantheon of Indy’s international restaurants. No longer are we just a city of Italian, Mexican and Chinese places. Alongside risotto and taquitos, we now have bacalao, churrascaria and pupusas. Besides BARcelona Tapas, Brazilian Grill on West 86th Street has introduced an entirely new concept of dining with its succulent grilled meats served tableside from giant rodzios. Latin American eateries like Guatelinda have come out from under the Mexican shadow to offer authentic dishes such as plantains stuffed with black beans, pupusas and tamales wrapped in banana leaves. More common cuisines, such as Indian, are turning up in some unusual settings, such as Tadkaa, which offers plenty of Bollywood and Indian pop, as well as vodka cocktails and a full range of Indian beers. With a Somali coffeehouse just east of the airport, Filipino food available in Beech Grove and a new Cuban café called TaTa’s planned for West Market downtown, you’ll want to rush your application for a passport so you can get it stamped all around this increasingly diverse city. Need some help navigating your way? The best local Web site for checking up on restaurants, both ethnic and otherwise, is still Indy Ethnic Food."