A Grand Vaisakhi Mela Full of Dance, Wedding, Gidha & Bhangra!
HOUSTON: This year’s Grand Vaisakhi Mela took a cue from last year’s event and turned it around by holding performances at a new elegant venue with plenty of space for the food and merchandising booths.
The event was held on Saturday, April 20 at the Morris Cultural Arts Center of the Houston Christian University campus off Fondren Drive and the Southwest Freeway. With easy access and plenty of surface parking, the capacity crowd had no problem getting to the venue. The evening’s performances were held at the acoustically state-of-the-art
1,200 seats Dunham Theater.
Once again, the driving force behind this year’s Grand Vaisakhi Melawas the unstoppable, energetic Jasmeeta Singh and the Mela had her vintage touch for bringing dances and youthful performances from across the area to commemorate Vaisakhi, a day holy for South Asians, with a sold-out crowd in attendance. The Grand Vaisakhi Mela
was presented by the Punjabi Society of Greater Houston. It is a celebration of Punjabi culture and a testament to the vibrant spirit of the community.
The event lined up over 20 booths offering a diverse range of products, including jewelry, clothes, cosmetics, and more. One of the standout booths was from Mahesh’s Kitchen, the Sugar Land restaurant in Town Center that has gained a following for its delectable dishes and exceptional service.
The event featured singing and captivating performances, including Bhangra, Gidha, Punjabi folk dances, and Bollywood Punjabi dances by local teams. The program kicked off with an energetic Dhol performance by Houston Bhangra Academy (HBA) students, setting the tone for the nonstop entertainment that followed.
The HBA led by Gurpreet Singh and Himmat Singh, showcased their incredible talent with energetic bhangra and Gidha performances. Another traditional Gidha performance was choreographed by Navneet Kaur. Exceptional performance of Punjabi Muityaran Punjabi folk dance, choreographed by Jasmeeta Singh and performed along with all the leaders of the dance schools mesmerized the audience.
Many Bollywood dance schools like Kalpna Bora, Nritya Kalpna School, Khushboo Dance School, Any1Can dance by Prachi, Aditi Bollywood School, and Rb’s Dance School. The most liked Weddings of Punjab segment choreographed by Jasmeeta Singh featured young girls and boys on stage showing the glitz and glamour of the rituals of weddings.
The highlight of the show was the spectacular performance by Empire Bhangra from California, leaving the audience in awe. Emcee was done by Dholbeat international Entertainment’s B Josan. The singing segment was held by Ekta Kaur, Swati, Karamjit Singh, Aman Kaur, Rajpreet Kaur, Ruby Singh, Soma Gosh, Zafarnama presentation by Paramjit Kandola and melodious shabad by group of young kids.
The show was made possible with the support of sponsors who trust Jasmeeta to provide excellent entertainment and showcase Punjabi culture. Among these were
Platinum Sponsors
Bobby & Jasmeeta Singh, Aman Singh Sidhu family
Diamond Sponsors
Dr. Ruhi Soni & Samit Soni, Gurmit & Seema Bhatia, Harinder Singh & Jasleen Kaur, Romy & Dr. Rajpreet Singh, Sabir F. of FS Group, Gurminder Singh Padda, Singh Financing
Gold Sponsors
Malla Mekala, Infodat & ICC Past President; Malik Jamal, Discount Power; Dr. Harman Buttar & Dr. Jaswant
Pandher, Vital Clinic and Spa
Silver Sponsors
Sony Kohli Realtor, SKG & Simmi Kohli; Daljit & Sukhpreet; Ragbir Pancal; Jasmeet Singh & Rajveer Kaur; Raj Veepuri, IFS Wealth Management
Bronze Sponsors
Parul Fernandes, ICC Preseident; Dr. Jasvinder and Trepanjeet Siddhu; Gurmeet and Rupy Kindra, Bombay Sweets;
Kanchan and Bikram Singh; Gia Dhaliwal; Kundan and Manjit Josan; Paul & Manmeet Likhari
Friends of PSGH
Gummer family; Arun and Sangeeta Pasreeja
The entire event was developed through the untiring efforts of a team composed of Raman Johar; Soma Grover; Rupy Kindra; Gurmeet Kindra; Jasleen Kaur; Akash Singh; Sukhpreet Kaur; Gagan Preet Singh; Kavneet Kaur; Kamaljeet Singh Otal; Seema Bhatia; Gagan Bhatia; Ekta Kaur Singh; Harmeet Singh; Rasna Kaur; Sarvpreet Singh, Sukha Singh, Trisha, and Swati Mehra.