THE Ratha-Yatra, Festival of Chariots will be held from Friday to Monday. Three 15m high chariots will be manually drawn on Friday from 11am from South Beach (opposite Tropicana Hotel), heading in a northerly direction on the Upper Marine Parade and turning at Mini Town into the Lower Marine Parade. It will reach the festival site, the lawns of the Bay of Plenty, opposite the Elangeni Hotel.
A shorter parade will take place on Monday from 5pm. It will leave the festival site (Bay of Plenty lawns), heading south on the promenade, turning at the pool and returning to the festival site.
Various activities will be held, including spiritual discussions, mantra meditation, song, dance and dramas dedicated to Lord Krishna. There will also be a children's spiritual wonderland and cultural entertainment and a range of vegetarian food on offer.
Ten international leaders from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) will attend to spread the teaching of Krishna consciousness through discourses and music. The chairperson of Iskcon’s governing body commission, His Grace Govardhan dasa, will also attend.
A fireworks display will be held on Saturday evening.
The festival runs daily from 11am to 9pm. Admission is free.