Ananda Mela Festival to Bring Joy, Culture to Redmond This Weekend

Approximately 20,000 people from Washington, Oregon and British Columbia are expected to gather in Redmond this weekend for a celebration of Indian arts, music, dance and cuisine.

Ananda Mela, which means "joyful festival of India," will return for a second year this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the campus. The three-day event will feature live dance and music performances by groups from both the U.S. and India, in addition to fine art, ethnic cuisine and other offerings.

The festival runs from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday and from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Ramesh Yerramsetti, one of the event's organizers, said Ananda Mela will be about 40 percent larger than it was last year, with three different performance stages and double the amount of booths.

“We have a much richer set of offerings this time in terms of dance and music,” Yerramsetti said.

Patch editors will also be at the festival on both Saturday and Sunday to meet members of the community and hand out free Patch goodies. Be sure to stop on by our booth and say hello!