MELBOURNE, 4 January 2023: Australia’s Tamil community will celebrate ‘Thai Pongal – Tamil Harvest Festival and New Year’ this year with enthusiasm and gaiety. The annual festival will be a day-long cultural experience and celebration for families and there is no entry free.
The event will take place on the 22nd of January, 2023 between 8:30 am and 4:00 pm at ‘GAA Gaelic Park, 324 Perry Road, Keysborough VIC 3173’.
A media-release from the organisers says, ” Victoria is a home for thousands of Tamils originated from various countries including Sri Lanka, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius and South Africa. Tamil community in Victoria is vibrant and has become the integral part of socio, economic and cultural fabric of Victoria. Tamil is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world and spoken by about 75 million people throughout the world. Tamil is more than a language. It is a 3000 years old complete civilization, which is still very relevant to the modern world.
Respecting and being thankful to the nature is an inherent aspect of the Tamil Heritage. ‘Thai Pongal’, a harvest festival – thanks giving to the nature, is a prominent Tamil festival. It is celebrated on the first day of the first month ‘Thai’ in the Tamil Calendar (15 January, 2023). The Thai Pongal Celebration, which is a collaborative efffort by various community organisations, has been named as ‘The Tamil Festival Australia’ and become a unique and united face of the Tamil Victorians.”
Many interesting events that will take place will include the making of traditional rice pudding (Pongal) in hundreds of pots, open stage programs reflecting cultural diversity of Victoria, exciting traditional games, stalls- food and beverages, cloths, services, kids entertainment, exhibitions and much more.
” The Tamil Festival 2023 is a collective effort of Australian Tamil Arts, Australian Tamil Literary and Arts society, Australian Tamilargal Welfare Association, Casey Tamil Manram, Hartley College PPA – Victoria Branch, Jaffna Hindu College OBA of Australia, Victoria, Melbourne Muththamil Manram, Melbourne Tamil Sangam, Northern Tigers Social Club, Sangath Thamil Kalaiyagam, Singing Fish Old Students Association, VIC, Tamilar Australia inc, Tamil Consortium of Victoria, Tamil Graded Readers Inc, Tamil Senior Citizens Benevolent Society Victoria Inc., Tamil Senior Citizens Fellowship (Victoria) Inc, Tamil Women Intercultural Organisation and Victorian Tamil Association,” says the media release.
For more information contact vanakkam@tamilfestival.org.au or go to www.virtualevents.org.au
