***IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT***
Dear Devotees,
Happy Radhastami and all glories to Lord Jagannatha.
We are unable to have the Ratha Yatra Parade and Festival at Eakins Oval on Saturday September 23rd, due to intense winds and rain that are being forecasted.
There will be a Jagannatha Festival at the Temple on Saturday from Noon – 6:30 p.m.
It is important for us that you know what factors went into this sad decision. I apologize for the lengthy message below, but please continue to read because it contains information that will be helpful for you.
The Ratha Yatra Team met this morning at 7 a.m. to decide on the direction of Saturday’s Festival. We have been meeting twice a day recently and delaying a decision with the hope that something in the weather forecast would indicate that the weather pattern will change. Unfortunately there was no indication of this happening.
24 hours before the festival a decision had to be made because key components of the Festival such site presentation and chariot both come from 10 hours away.
The type of rain and storm we are expecting matters. This is not a case of possibility of rain showers, or a high chance of an afternoon thunderstorm patch that could miss us. This is a nor’easter and all indications are we are going blanket the region from Maryland to New York with high winds.
We consulted with the Festival of India, located in North Carolina, who provides the tents, stage and festival set up. He told us that he would not set up the tents if there are high winds as predicted because it would not be safe. To set up the site requires 10 hours of work, so we could not wait until Saturday morning to make a decision.
We consulted with devotee who brings the chariot, who needs to travel 10 hours to Philadelphia. He was very reluctant to set up his chariot given the expected weather conditions. As many of you know the amount of Prasadam prepared for our Ratha Yatra is tremendous taking many days to arrange. These devotees needed to know what purchase and prepare accordingly.
Ratha Yatra is our biggest preaching festival of the year. In that spirit, all indications look like it will be a miserable day for all and the public will be a no-show.
The question is what’s next? Can we get a rain date? There was no rain date given to us by the City but the Ratha Yatra Committee is actively in communication with the City to explore possible dates later this Fall. We do know that next week is not available. There are serval factors involved so we probably won’t have an answer for about a week. There is a strong desire to be able to hold a Ratha Festival this year in Philadelphia, let’s see what Lord Jagannatha arranges.
Tomorrow will not be a complete wash. We will have a Jagannatha Festival at the Temple from Noon to 6:30 p.m. It is important for devotees to gather during times like this and support each other. At all times we give thanks, knowing that Lord Jagannatha is in control of everything and that He has some special plan in this situation.
There will be kirtans from special guest kirtaniyas, the stage program that was going to be performed at Ratha Yatra will be performed and Jagannatha’s Ratha Yatra prasadam feast will be served.
If you were planning on coming to cut vegetables for the Ratha Yatra today, we still need your help in preparing tomorrow’s feast. Vegetable cutting will begin today at 1:00 p.m. and continue into the Radhastami Celebration at 6:00 p.m. tonight.
If you have have any questions or concerns about the Ratha Yatra that you would like to share please reach out to any member of the Ratha Yatra team members: Vamana Dev dasa ( Chariman), Vishnugada dasa, Devi Deva dasa, Dronacarya dasa, Caitanya Chandra dasa, Sita Devi dasi.
On behalf of the Ratha Yatra Team,
Your servant,
Dronacarya dasa