The Ugadi celebrations organized by Telugu Association of Bloomington-Normal on Saturday evening, April the 13th received overwhelming response from the Telugu people living in and around the twin cities. The cultural performances by our community members followed by delicious snacks and dinner were the highlights of the event.

Over 800 people attended these celebrations who were entertained by the performances of over 200 Kids and Adults. The cultural committee under Krishnaja Bhamidipati’s guidance came up with an innovative and well-appreciated blend of cultural programs on this occasion.

 CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS Gallery

Manoj Chekuri and Praveen Vadlamudi along with a few more volunteers welcomed the audience into the auditorium with warm Ugadi wishes.

Aishwarya Chenji, Sai Vikas Nethi, Priyamsa Mikkilineni, Shravya Jayam and Gayathri Arla under the guidance of Raghu Paturi and Prasanna Nethi served as MCs for the celebrations.

The good old Capen Auditorium inside the ISU campus stood witness to the huge turnaround of the joy-filled Telugu people as the Vijaya naama samvatsara Ugadi celebrations started off with auspicious pooja ceremony. Sri Rao Duvvuri garu performed the pooja followed by panchaanga sravanam.

The cultural programs were kicked off by our youngest artists in a fancy dress parade composed with the theme of Five Elements (Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Sky).

Later, the dances performed by the youngsters with interesting themes to the tunes of popular Tollywood music left the audience wanting more. The Folk Dances, Burra Katha Kaalakshepam and Mono Action stood some of the highlights of the evening. Instrumental music performed by our little maestros under the guidance of Vishala Avadhanam left the audience spellbound.

Classical dances, “Sri Rama Pattabhishekam” performed by the students of Nruthyamaala Dance Academy under the guidance of Uma Kallakuri, “Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum” performed by the students of Lasyasudha Dance School under the guidance of Sudha Kalavakunta and “Krishna Leela Tarangam” performed by Soujanya Madanu brought the rich culture of our Telugu land to the Bloomington-Normal twin cities yet again.

An Ethnic fashion show performed by enthusiastic couples which is coordinated and choreographed by Soujanya Thokala showcased the authentic Telugu attire to the audience.

Bloomington Mayor-elect, Mr. Tari Renner attended the event and appreciated the contributions of our community to the cities of Bloomington and Normal. He was overwhelmed by the response he received as he stepped on stage to address the audience.

Later, the people from our Telugu community who has shown exceptional talent in the fields of sports and social activities were awarded Ugadi Puraskaram. Krishnaja Bhamidipati, Padmasree Pasupuleti and Siva Pasupuleti presided over the awards program.

The winners of the Kids competitions were awarded prizes on this occassion. Mandava Venkateswara Rao, Rao Duvvuri, Vani Prasad, Vishala Avadhanam, Prasanna Nethi, Uma Kallakuri, Muralidhar Tekkalakota and Rajasekhar Alamanda had graciously given away the prizes.

Ugadi’2013 Event coordinator Sashi Vattikuti introduced our volunteers who spent so many hours and put in a lot of effort to making this event a grand success.

EyeLevel Learning Center formerly known as Enopi Learning Center and Namasthe Palaza of Bloomington sponsored this event.

Later, Sarita Chilla offered Vote of Thanks as part of which she thanked each and every participant, audience, coordinators, choreographers, volunteers, sponsors and honorary guests.

At the end of the event, an authentic Telugu dinner was provided to the taste of our people by Masala restaurant from Naperville under the guidance of Sambasiva Rao Gurijala.

This event was organized successfully with the help of dedicated volunteers like Ajay Kalavala, Jaya Tummala, Appana Peddiredla,Srinivas Dodda,Srinivas Mikkilineni, Srinivas Lagadapati, Hari Prasad Rebba, Suresh Krishna, Srinivas Bhamidipati, Ganesh Peddireddy, Ramana Chenji, Murali Adala, Srinivas Garapati, Pradeep Teetla, Shankaraiah Balagonda, Suresh Silla, Kishore Butti, Kishore Nare, Jaya Chenji, Rohini Byrishetti, Shwetha Tellicherry, Nagalakshmi Chitta, Krishna Mohan Annapragada and Devanand Chatrathi. Some of our youth volunteers namely Lokesh Julakanti, Rohit Kanamarlapudi, Shravya Bommaveddi, Vamsi Varadabandi, Vishnu Divya Velupula,Dhruv Rebba and Likhita Kalla pitched in and helped a great deal during the hour of need and proved the strength of youth can create wonders yet again.