CIC Diwali Gala presented by BB Travel Experts - Event Day Logistics

Please read this note in its entirety. It contains details about the CIC Diwali Gala happening at the Orchard City Banquet Hall (in Campbell Community Center) on Saturday, 10-Nov, 2018. 

Event Date: Saturday, 10-Nov, 2018

Time: 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Location: Orchard City Banquet Hall, Campbell Community Center, 1 West Campbell Avenue, Campbell, CA-95008

Event Day Logistics:

• Doors will open at 5:30 pm and will close at 8:30 pm. The hall has to be vacated by 9:00 pm.

• Registration: There will be a registration desk when you come in where you will pick up your raffle coupons, ticket (for photo booth - more on that later) and drink tokens (if purchased). Please retain all of them as you will be needing them during the event.

• Photo Booth: There will be a photo booth with family photos by Ram Athreya. Each family will get one opportunity (by turn) to get their photos taken. Your family will be called based on your ticket number. Please pay attention when your number is called. Due to time constraints we will not be accommodating more than one picture per family nor will we able to do anything other than family photos. Once the official photo booth is done, the photo booth area will be available until the end of the show for friends and family to take as many photos as they desire with their phones.

• The hall will be divided into two sections - one with banquet style seating for dinner and the other, the dance floor/ standing area. There will also be chairs in the corners of the room for friends to sit and talk.

• Music: There will be a professional DJ providing music throughout the evening.

• Food: Chai and an appetizer will be available from around 6 pm. A banquet style dinner will be served around 7 pm. Food is being catered by Ananda Bhavan.

• Drinks: The bar will be open from 6 pm for people who have purchased their alcohol. There will be a selection of beer and wine to choose from. Alcohol will not be available for purchase at the event. 

• Games: There will be a fun game from around 6:15pm. We request everyone to participate in the fun. 

• Parking: There is ample parking in the complex.

• Trash and Clean Up: The event is managed entirely by volunteers and there will be limited time to clean up afterwards. We request all attendees to dispose their trash (plates and cups) in designated trash bins and not leave them lying around. We also strongly recommend parents bring a water bottle for their kids to reduce waste.

• Kids: Parents are responsible for their kids safety. The hall is large enough to accommodate everyone. Kids can move around relatively freely. But once kids leave the hall, it will be hard to track them in the dark beyond the lobby. So we request parents to keep a watchful eye on their kids. 

• Raffle Prizes: There are some exciting raffle prizes to be given away during the event. For folks who have bought the raffle tickets online, you will get them at registration. For everyone else, you will have a chance to buy raffle tickets at the registration desk.

• Ticket Transfers: If you had to transfer your tickets (or if you are the recipient of tickets you picked up from someone else), please let us know prior to the event so we can give you the right ticket. You can email Nekzad@gmail.com with the information.

If you have any last minute questions or concerns, email or message Nekzad or Prabhu.

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

CIC Board and Officers.

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CIC presents Diwali Gala 2018 sponsored by BB Travel Experts

The Cambrian Indian Community (CIC) is excited to present its first ever Diwali Gala sponsored by BB Travel Experts, Trinethra Supermarkets and LSJ Financial. Before we get into specifics, here are the key event details:

Date: Saturday, 10th November, 2018

Venue: Orchard City Banquet Hall, 1 W Campbell Ave, Campbell, CA 95008

Time: 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Dress Code: Colorful Indian party/festival attire

Tickets: Please read ticket information below prior to purchasing your tickets.

• Each adult and kid ticket includes entry to event and catered vegetarian dinner.

• Adult: $20/ person

• Kids (aged 3-12): $15/ person

• Kids (less than 3): Free

Additional Ticket Information:

Please read prior to buying tickets.

• Given that ticket availability is capped due to hall considerations, we will restrict each person to 6 tickets. If you intend to purchase more tickets, please email cambrianindiancommunity@gmail.com with your request and you will be placed on a waitlist. We cannot promise that we will be able to accommodate your request but will do our best.

• Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. When you purchase your ticket, it will be tied to your email address used to make the transaction and where you will receive your ticket confirmation.

• Kids under 3 can attend the event for free. You will require to purchase a free ticket for each kid under 3 in the family during the ticketing process to allow us to keep track of the total hall attendee count.

• Tickets will not be sold at the venue.

• You can also buy as many raffle tickets as you desire (raffle prizes will be announced over the next few days)

Event Details:

The CIC has typically organized a performance based Diwali event at this time of the year. This year we are making some changes to that. Given the effort it takes to organize the performances based Diwali event and how it impacts the Dusshera/Navarathri season, we are moving it to Spring and retitling that event as our Annual Day. Look for more details on the Annual Day later this year.

There has also been a demand from community members for a more casual and relaxed get-together where friends come together to celebrate the festive season. This gala is our attempt at addressing that request. We are doing it for the first time and are using this opportunity to try a few new ideas. Here they are.

1. This event will be performance free. There will be a professional DJ playing music and one half of the large hall will be cleared to accommodate folks who let their hair down and dance the evening away.

2. We are offering a dinner buffet to allow attendees to sit down with friends and family in a banquet style seating arrangement and have a casual dinner.

3. Finally, we will also be offering alcoholic beverages for the first time. This is how it will work. Each adult can purchase (during their ticketing) two alcoholic beverage tickets for $5 each. A family of two adults can thus purchase as many as four alcoholic beverage tickets. Beverage options will be limited to beer and wine. There will not be an active bar at the event nor will alcohol be available for purchase at the venue. So if you would like to purchase it, please do so when you buy your event tickets.

We will share the dinner menu in the coming days along with event day logistics. We will also have a raffle during the event with some really cool prizes. A little birdie tells us that a pretty fancy wireless noise cancelling headphone might be one of the raffle prizes. More details in the coming days.

We look forward to seeing you at the event. It will be a lot of fun and best of all, you get to hang out with all your old friends and make new ones too!

Before I leave you, I would like to tell you about our three sponsors for the event. Returning as our Grand Sponsor is Cambrian’s very own BB Travel Experts. Bomi Patel, Proprietor of BBTES lives in our community and has been a major patron of all our events. Also returning as Gold Sponsors are Trinethra Supermarkets, our local Indian grocery store and LSJ Financial, our supportive financial planner. We request one and all to support these businesses who have been pillars in our community.

Buy your tickets here.

CIC presents Positivity Rocks sponsored by Dance Pulla

We are excited to present a brand new event called "Positivity Rocks" sponsored by our local community business "Dance Pulla". 

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Sponsor Details

If you’ve got a kid that can’t stop tapping their toes to the beat, then Dance Pulla has got a class where they can dance their socks off! We’ll introduce your child to the mix of Bollywood & Kollywood dance techniques while allowing them to express themselves through creative movement and continue to get better their dancing skills. Kids will have a great time learning Bollywood steps every session while improving their confidence in dancing, body coordination, flexibility, and focus. Please visit www.dancepulla.com for more information.

About the dance teacher Vijay Sivalingam, a resident of CIC

Vijay's passion is to dance and he has been dancing for more than 15 years for various dance groups like Sanhiti, Visweta, BATA, Nach Ke Dekh in Bay Area.  He has been involved with CIC ever since he moved to Cambrian Park in 2012 and has been actively participating in all the CIC events by choreographing a dance for kids (and adults too). He recently started his own dance school called Dance Pulla to continue teaching dance and instill the pleasure of dancing in kids.

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Event Details

Event: Positivity Rocks

Date: Sunday, Aug 12, 2018

Time: 8am - 10am

Venue: Belgatos Park

Participants: Children ages 5 and up

Fee: $10/child

Activities include: Hiking, Sun salutation, Placing the rocks and eat breakfast

We will leave behind painted rocks during the hike and around the play structure to brighten strangers’ days.  The rocks can be taken home, admired or moved from one place to another. Aside from making someone's day, another amusing part of the project is seeing where the colorful rocks land after they are dropped off by their maker(s). Interestingly, it’s been found out that people will take them on vacation and leave them in different states, countries even.

CIC Natya Sangeeth Utsav 2018 sponsored by Skyline Tutoring, Music Village, KalaAwishkar Dance School and Kumon-Los Gatos Blossom Crest

The Cambrian Indian Community is excited to welcome you to CIC Natya Sangeeth Utsav 2018. 

CIC’s Natya Sangeeth Utsav is our annual event to promote Indian music and dance forms and is in it’s fifth year in 2018. It features Hindustani and Carnatic classical music, vocal and instrumental, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Kathak dances, with solo and group performances by our community members. When this event was first held 4 years ago, the participation was limited but it is hearteningly notable that the music and dance segments presented right from its inception were well received by the audience. From the past 2 years, the participation and volunteer effort for this event has been increasing and this year, we reached maximum program capacity with a waiting list within the first two days of the announcement of the event.

This year, the Utsav event will be held on 20th May 2018 at Guadalupe Elementary school. We are very excited about our community seniors also participating for the first time in a group recital. We are happy to announce that there are multiple sponsors for this event - Music Village,  Skyline Tutoring, KalaAwishkar Dance School and Kumon of Los Gatos - Blossom Crest. Utsav 2018 will be held at a local elementary school (Guadalupe Elementary) and we look forward to showcasing all the performances on a beautiful well-lit stage.

Results of 2018 CIC elections and your new Officers

We are happy to announce the new officers who will be joining the CIC organization. This was the result of the elections that were announced recently. We had three applicants for three different roles which made the need for an election moot. All three contestants were elected unopposed. These three officers will serve their roles for a period of 2 years (until March 2020) barring unforeseen circumstances.

So here are your new officers and their brief statement they provided as part of their application for the role.

President - Nekzad Shroff

"I strongly believe that being part of a community takes work and commitment. I consider myself lucky to be a member of a thriving, active and vibrant CIC, and as such, I have no hesitation in giving back to be a small part of its evolution and growth story. My focus in this role would be on 3 key areas: Outreach - to reach and grow the number of active participants and volunteers who proudly count themselves as part of our family, Engagement - to encourage free and open expression of diverse views and debate in our community and to build trusting relationships that propel our energy, Expression - to find avenues for our diverse community members to contribute in unique and creative activities and events which truly reflect the "unity in diversity" that is our biggest asset."

Vice President/Secretary - Rajesh Radhakrishnan

"I like to bring people together. Love it. Organized VB tournament with the help of our community. Getting things done on time, on budget, on schedule, being cognizant of the human elements, is part of my job. This role will require a similar skill set IMO."

Treasurer - Venkata Ramanan

"I am not big on declarations but I think I put others needs and needs ahead of me and will be a guide/help/fellow traveler for the community."

As we mentioned in an earlier post, the CIC Board will continue to stay to help guide the officers and ensure that the core charter of the organization is maintained. The Board consists of three members - Krithika Santhanam, Sachin Holla, and Rangaprabhu Parthasarathy.

We are very excited to welcome the new team. Please join us in congratulating them and providing them the support they need to continue our mission of building a wonderful community.

Closing out CIC Discover India 2018

Thank you to the entire community for showing up at the fourth edition of Discover India. It is our smallest event of the year and designed to foster bonding and collaboration. The setting is intimate and the competition and camaraderie are so wonderful to witness. We had our largest participation turnout ever this year and it was fantastic to see so many new faces. I hope we gave you a good experience that will bring you back for more such events. I am glad I live in a community that gives me a platform to do this every year.

As always, this event was not a solo effort. It took many people doing small and big things at the right time to make the event successful. The Cambrian Indian Community has cultivated a culture of shared responsibilities and this event was no different. As a quizmaster, I stand proudly on the shoulder of giants who help in every step of the way. To new members of the community, I strongly encourage you to consider volunteering or signing up to organizing your own event, however small it may be.

Here in CIC, we take our feedback seriously. After every event, we share a feedback form for participants and guests to share their feedback anonymously. Wherever possible we incorporate improvements based on feedback for future years. Here is the full report of this year's event.

Many thanks to our sponsor, Vimana for supporting us.

Until next year, stay curious!

CIC Discover India 2018 - The Rules of the game

It is almost here. We are just over 24 hours from the fourth annual Discover India presented by Vimana. Before we get to the rules and all that, let me remind everyone about the event.

Date and Time: Sunday, 2 pm at Cambrian Library (please remember to set your clocks for Daylight Savings tomorrow)

Venue: Cambrian Park Library, 1780 Hillsdale Ave, San Jose, CA

Duration: 3 to 3.5 hours based on how quickly we go through the rounds.

Entry Fee: $5 per team. Can be paid in cash at the venue or as a check to Cambrian Indian Community (cash preferred)

Snacks: There will be small snacks (and chai) for purchase. Please bring change.

FAQs on Rules and Logistics:

What time should I be there?

You need to be there at 1.45 pm. We will start getting people split into teams and seated immediately. If you arrive after 1.45, it is likely you will end up in whatever team with openings. The plan is to START the event at 2 pm. The later we start, the fewer the rounds we can run. 

I signed up as an individual (or as part of a partial team). Who will be my teammates?

We will sort all of you into teams at 1.45pm tomorrow. So please arrive on time. While it won’t be truly random, I am thinking of keeping things interesting by doing an on-the-spot pairing exercise. 

Will there be a break during the event?

Yes, we will take a 15-minute break around 3.30 or so. There will be chai and some small snacks for purchase. Please bring change. 

Can I bring my kids?

There is limited space at the library community room, specifically for kids to run around. If your kids can bring a book or activity to do and hang out among adults, it will be perfectly fine. 

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So about those questions…..

How many rounds will we have?

There will be 6-8 rounds of movies based trivia depending on how fast we roll. We will finish no later than 5:30 pm. Earlier if possible.

Will all questions be focused on Bollywood movies?

No. The questions are designed to cover the broader Indian spectrum. That being said, some rounds are more Bollywood centric than others. Three of the rounds will give teams a chance to pick from a selection of Hindi, Tamil or Telugu movies. So you can play to strengths in those rounds.

Should I be a movie buff to do well? Will the questions be from the black and white era?

You don’t need to be a movie buff but it will help if are someone who occasionally watches (or used to watch) Hindi/Tamil/Telugu movies. If I were to plot a Bell curve, the healthy center of the distribution will be movies from 1985-2005 which coincides with the time many of us used to watch a lot of movies.

Will the questions be hard?

For folks who have attended earlier edition of Discover India, this year will be the easiest by every metric. My goal with this event is to ensure that over 85% of questions are answered by participants. This year will be no different. I expect the hit rate to be higher than 90% this time around.

Are there only direct question type rounds?

No. There will be dumb charades and Pictionary in addition to audio and visual rounds. The event is designed to keep you on your toes.

Should I prepare?

Not sure how you can prepare. If you want to look at my earlier responses and do some prep, you can but it will not make a huge difference one way or the other.

Are there prizes?

In the first year, I offered gift card prizes. There was overwhelming feedback that participants preferred no prizes. So keeping with that, we will not have prizes but you do get valuable bragging rights until next year's event which is a bigger deal than any prize I can give. 

Parting thoughts?

Be prepared to meet new people, hang out with old friends and have a lot of fun in a very intimate setting. It gets crazy in a good way. Discover India is one of our smallest events designed to have people crammed into a room and feed off each other’s energies.