"Best one so far!": Punjabi Mela celebration draws crowds to Kooyoo Plaza

Hundreds flocked to Kooyoo Plaza to take part in the second annual Punjabi Mela celebrations on Saturday night in what proved to be the biggest held so far.

According to organiser Nick Chauhan, between 800 and 1000 turned out not just from Griffith but Leeton and surrounds in a celebration of Indian culture featuring dancing, food and more on April 20.

“It was an extremely good night that lasted late, with everyone getting heavily involved in the festivities,” Mr Chauhan said.,

“The turnout was beyond our expectations, with plenty of involvement from the community. It was definitely bigger than last year.

“One of the great things was seeing how many young people got involved as well as families which is a key aim of the event,” he said.

“At the end of the day, the goal was to create awareness for mental health and suicide support services such as Wellways who said they were amazed with how the night went. It made terrific strides to promote what they do.”

He said the decision to remove ticketing for the purchase of food proved beneficial considering the number of people on the night.

“Caterers were extremely busy so not having ticketing enabled lineups to be processed swiftly, making it easier for everyone overall,” Mr Chauhan said.

“This was also the first year we had alcohol available and I have to say there were no negative backlashes which was a positive reflection of the society we live in.”

He said organisers are grateful to council for enabling the event to go ahead and is already thinking of plans for next year.

“We are grateful to Griffith City Council for helping us facilitate this and it was fantastic to have Griffith mayor Doug Curran and member for Farrer Sussan Ley join in on the night,” he said.

“I think a big part of the success was implementing feedback we received from last year and next year we hope to make it even bigger.”

(Source: The Area News)