Dallas Gets Its Own Festival of Joy: World’s Oldest Street Party Will Take Over Downtown

BY Natalie Gempel // 03.15.18

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Ratha Yatra, the Festival of Chariots, will be held in Downtown Dallas this year.

It's believed to be the oldest street festival in the world, tracing back more than 3,000 years.

The festival is a joyful celebration of Indian spirituality and culture.

The festival will include a parade, music, food and henna tattoos.

This is the 35th consecutive year that Ratha Yatra has been observed in Dallas.

Ratha Yatra, the Festival of Chariots, will be held in Downtown Dallas this year.

The oldest street festival in the world is coming to Downtown Dallas this April. Ratha Yatra, the Festival of Chariots, is a joyous, colorful celebration of Indian spirituality and culture which traces back more than 3,000 years.

This spring, for the first time, the festival will be held in the Dallas Arts District, joining other global city centers like New York City’s Fifth Avenue and London’s Piccadilly Circus in celebrating this event. Kalachandji’s and the Crow Collection of Asian Art will present the festival, which includes a parade and outdoor celebration.

The main event is the procession, in which festival-goers, pilgrims and faith leaders pull a giant, colorful chariot carrying sacred deities of Jagannatha, Subhadra and Balarama, while hundreds of people dance alongside, singing sacred mantras and playing traditional music.

Devotees believe that by pulling the ropes of the chariot carrying Jagannatha (a.k.a. Lord Krishna or Lord of the Universe) then they will obtain eternal service to the Lord in the spiritual world. The tradition began in the ancient holy city of Jagannatha Puri in Orissa, India and has become a global phenomenon. It’s been observed in Dallas for more than three decades.

“Each year, we aim to make the Festival of Chariots a more vibrant and colorful festival for Dallas. Now in its 35th consecutive year, it is an honor to see the festival move from our East Dallas neighborhood to reach all citizens of Dallas,” says Nityananda Dasa Adhikari, president of the Texas Krishna’s in Dallas.

The procession will go down Flora Street and end at Klyde Warren Park, where festival fun will continue until 4 p.m. The park will feature cultural and educational exhibits, a main stage with kirtan (musical mantra meditation) and bharat-natyam (classical Indian dance), and a free vegetarian feast for all. There will also be booths set up with traditional crafts, vegetarian cooking demonstrations, Indian dress-up, face painting, mehendi (henna tattoos), and varieties of ethnic vegetarian food for purchase.