By Bhakta Thomas
The Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork is world-famous for its huge festivals drawing tens of thousands of visitors to the Utah attraction, but COVID-19 changed everything. “Our Festival of Colors (Holi) has been going on for 25 years,” said Caru Das, co-founder of the two ISKCON temples in Utah, “Just two weeks before the March event, the governor banned any gatherings larger than ten people.” All but one of our other festivals in California and Nevada were also canceled. Not only were all the Festivals for 2020 canceled, but stay-at-home orders meant visitors to the temple, organic farm, and animal sanctuary effectively disappeared (a typical day would bring 80-100 visitors).
As protocols loosened midsummer, the Temple re-opened June 1st, and visitors started to trickle back to the iconic grounds in Utah County. Soon summer school and homeschool groups began to request tours, and families grateful to get out again began to return. “We made sure we had strong protocols in place - wearing masks, hand sanitizing, and social distancing - to ensure our guests were safe as they toured the grounds and the Temple,” said Vaibhavi devi dasi who designed the unique Temple which was completed in 2001. Now dozens of guests a day are visiting the religious landmark again.
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/how-iskcon-spanish-fork-has-responded-to-covid-19,7526/
Comments