Socialize and meet dignitaries 11:30 am – 12:00 noon
Flag Raising Ceremony 12:00 noon – 12:30 pm
Light Lunch and socialize 12:30 pm – 1:00 pm
Where: Allentown City Hall, 435 Hamilton St, Allentown, PA 18101
Tel: (610) 439-5999
All Are Cordially Invited To Join In the Celebration
To pay tribute to the most populous democracy of the modern world!
Light snack will be provided.
Officials from Allentown Mayor’s office, Allentown City Police Department, Fire Department will be present at the event.
August 15th, 1947, India became an independent nation.
Seventh largest country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people.
Home to the over 5000 years ancient Indus Valley Civilization.
Four world religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, and Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and shaped its’ diverse culture.
India is a Federal Constitutional Republic governed under a Parliamentary System consisting of 29 States & 7 Union Territories.
India is a pluralistic, multilingual, multi-religious and multi-ethnic society.
India has general elections every five years.
2014 General Elections for 543 members (8,251 candidates contested) of parliamentary constituencies of India were conducted by the Election Commission, an independent Governmental body. It spanned over 35 days, with voter turnout of 66.38% with 814.5 Million registered voters making it the largest-ever election in the world.
Come join us to salute the Flag of India.
Folks, since 1989, The Mayor of City of Allentown has been by us on this day giving the Lehigh Valley Indian-Americans the privilege of hoisting the Indian flag at the Allentown City Hall. Come join us in honoring our birth country in our adopted country.
Please disseminate this Important Message to whoever may benefit from the information in your inner and outer circles.
“Really glad you’re doing something like this. Clearly it’s happening all over the country, but it takes guts to bring about the discussion because so many times we think a) that’ll never happen to me or b) have a fear of bringing up such heavy topics out loud. The best part is you have Government officials there supporting you and hearing your voices, so it’s going to the next level. And I saw what happened to Neil Makhija in a Facebook video, it’s alarmingly frightening. Thanks for doing what you do!” – Anonymous
IAALV Seeks to Become an Effective Voice For the Community in these Trying Times Drawing Strength from our Unity!
Dear Esteemed Members of our Community:
On May 17, 2017, IAALV organized a groundbreaking event for the good of the community where immigrants in general and Indian-Americans in particular discussed bias-motivated attacks and verbal affronts on the members of the community, and particularly the safety of our streets and our schools.
Our featured speakers talked about the current state of affairs and gave us assurance about ensuring the safety and security of the members of the community. The Hon. Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, who headlined thee meeting, mentioned that he is overwhelmed by the substantial increase in the number of hate crime cases in Pa since he was sworn Jan. 17, 2017. Hate crimes are defined in Pa. as ethnic intimidation.
Josh Shapiro, Honorable attorney of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
He said he is bent on reversing the trend by encouraging immigrant communities to work with judiciary, law enforcement and government bodies.
The contact number for people having ethnic intimidation issues is
(Please let IAALV know if you want help with expediting your complaint redressal process.)
To deal with this situation effectively and collectively, the attorney general is forming a coalition of partnership with the immigrant communities. He congratulated IAALV on its mission and continued efforts towards that end and invited us to be part of this initiative to help alleviate the situation.
Community Leaders and Guests
The presentations by the attorney general and other officials struck a chord with the audience. Most importantly, more than 10 organizations serving Lehigh Valley Indian-Americans came together and participated in the event and they all agreed to work together for our common good and shared interests.
Moving forward, we need to do the following:
Form Coalition: To become a part of the soon-to-be-formed coalition, IAALV organizes itself as an umbrella body for all organizations serving over 7000 Lehigh Valley Indian-Americans irrespective of their affiliations and faith. IAALV through its’ activities since the early nineties has been adding value to the entire community irrespective of their affiliations or faith thus making each one of 7000 of us a beneficiary of our efforts.
Develop Political Power: We must seize the moment to develop political power and all organizations present were supportive of the idea. We need to re-establish the Indo-American Political Action Committee along the lines of what we established in 1994.
Friends, we must seize the moment as Indian–Americans are at a crossroads where we must choose between more talk or wasteful politicking and plain old hard work to bring the community together. Our actions and involvement will determine and secure our future and the second generation and the generations that will follow.
I urge all concerned people to come forward to become part of these initiatives and encourage them to join us to take these steps forward prudently.
Charles Chrin Community Center of Palmer Township,
4100 Green Pond Rd, Easton, PA 18045
What to Expect?
Major restaurants from Lehigh Valley will be showcasing their foods:
[Vendors list: coming soon]
Delicious home cooked food from few Lehigh Valley locals.
Indian Jewelry, Saree, Chudidaar, and other fashion items.
Get Mehndi/Henna on you palms and hands from the finest artists from around Lehigh Valley.
Cultural programs and games for children.
How does it work?
One dollar entree fee per person. Children under 2 are free.
One major change in our format this year is that there is no need to deal with coupons anymore; you pay directly to the vendor. Please bring cash and preferably small bills.
This is a fundraising event
Foods of India is one of IAALV’s popular annual event. We are very excited to continue the trend and present you the same this year. This is also one of our major fundraising event. part of the proceeds will be donated to Meals on Wheels. The dollars that we raise, help us undertake other projects on your behalf, meet operating expenses, publish our newsletters and also we support other charity organization around the Lehigh Valley by making donations to them.
Direction
Charles Chrin Community Center of Palmer Township, 4100 Green Pond Rd, Easton, PA 18045
