By ROHINI KOMARLA and times staff
Published November 4, 2004
Each year, the culture of India is brought to an unlikely place, the USF Sun Dome. In its 17th year, the India Festival features music, brightly colored costumes, shopping and food. About 9,000 people are expected to attend.
Another highlight of the festival is the dance competition. For Megha Pansara, a senior in the international baccalaureate program at Hillsborough High School, the competition will be even more special this year. The 17-year-old has been performing since she was 9 and will move on to college next year.
Megha, who choreographed her team's dance, has high expectations.
"I am so glad I had the opportunity to choreograph the dance," she said. "It was sometimes hard because not everyone has the same capabilities, but there are always obstacles in every dance."
More than 600 dancers from throughout the state will participate. Above, Anokhee Patel, center, and other dancers from Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay rehearsed a competition dance in 2002.
The India Festival will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Sun Dome, 4202 E Fowler Ave., Tampa. Admission is $6 for adults, $3 for children. 813 974-3002 or www.gujaratisamaj.org
- ROHINI KOMARLA, a member of the Times X-Team, is in 11th grade at King High School.
Sail show gets under way
The tall ship Unicorn will be the star of Strictly Sail (formerly called Sail Expo) this weekend in St. Petersburg.
The Unicorn, built in Holland in 1947 from the scrap metal from captured German U-boats, worked for 32 years as a fishing trawler on the North Atlantic. In 1979, the ship was converted to a sailing vessel. In 2003, it went through another $600,000 renovation. The ship is rigged like craft of its kind were 200 years ago.
The ship will be open for tours during the sail show, which has 170 exhibitors on land and in water. Strictly Sail hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday in Vinoy Park and Marina, Bayshore Drive and Fifth Avenue NE, St. Petersburg. $10 today and Friday, $12 Saturday and Sunday; $5 for ages 6 to 16. Toll-free 1-800-817-7245 or www.sailamerica.com
- Times staff writer
Flipping for flapjacks
Free pancakes. What else do you need to know? The annual Land O'Lakes Flapjack Festival, of course, features more than treats from the griddle. There will be arts and crafts, midway rides, entertainment and food vendors Friday through Sunday. The free flapjack breakfast is from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday; the parade is at 11 a.m. Saturday. There's a concert with James Taylor Curtis and Silver Eagle Band at 8 p.m. Saturday.
Festival hours are 4 to 11 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Land O'Lakes Community Center, 5401 Land O'Lakes Blvd. U.S. 41, 3 miles north of SR 54. (813) 909-2722 or www.centralpascochamber.com/fj.htm Free admission; parking $3.
