In the space of a few days, Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi were taken on another Rathayatra, this time in a parade in the Auckland suburb of Mangere, which is near the airport.
As usual, the devotees chanted and danced in front of Their Lordships and waved to the crowd, who in turn clapped and waved back. It had been bad weather all day but fortunately got sunny and calm just before the parade started.
Source: https://ramaiswami.com/mangere-rathayatra/
In Auckland, in the months of November and December, many of the surrounding suburbs arrange to have parades go through the streets. Generally, local businesses put their floats in to advertise the products they sell.
Fortunately, we are able to participate with our Jagannatha Rathayatra “float” and go in the parade as well. On the same day as the Orewa parade, we went to one in the suburb of Manurewa and everyone appreciated the devotees dancing and chanting in front of Lord Jagannatha.
Source
The devotees took Their Lordships, Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi on Their Ratha Chariot in a parade at Orewa, which is a suburb to the north of Auckland.
There were thousands of people lining the street clapping and waving as the devotees had ecstatic kirtan. The route was on the road adjacent to the beach so it was a beautiful setting. A sumptuous picnic prasadam dinner was served in the park afterward.
Source: https://ramaiswami.com/orewa-auckland-rathayatra/
Every year the New Varshana devotees organize a Rathayatra parade that goes down Queen Street in Auckland. This has been going on for decades and a beautiful big Jagannatha chariot is pulled through the city.
In the last year, a smaller chariot has been built that allows us to go in parades in the suburbs and smaller regional towns. I was fortunate to attend the first one in the Auckland suburb of Onehunga.
The event was joyful and the crowd waved to the devotees performing kirtan and pulling Lo
By Krsangi Radhe Dasi,
The Festival of Chariots in Maputo, Mozambique, is no ordinary spiritual event—it’s an annual miracle of devotion, grit, and grace. Organized by ISKCON Mpumalanga devotees from South Africa, this vibrant two-day Ratha Yatra (held in July) now draws thousands into the embrace of Lord Jagannath, Lord Baladev, and Subhadra devi, showering the streets with music, mercy, and prasadam.
Though Bhakti Caitanya Swami (the co-GBC for South Africa) had initiated preaching in the area
By ISKCON Communications North America
On Saturday, July 12th, during the annual Rathayatra parade organized by ISKCON Toronto, multiple eggs were thrown from a residential balcony onto the public street where thousands of parade-goers had gathered. One egg struck a female participant on the hand, causing localized swelling. Several other eggs landed on the ground, creating alarm among those nearby.
The incident was imme
By Atma Tattva Das
On June 15th, the streets of Gaborone vibrated with rhythm, color, and spiritual energy as ISKCON Botswana held its 9th Annual Rathayatra, also known as the Festival of Chariots. What began nine years ago with a handful of determined devotees has grown into one of Botswana’s most anticipated spiritual gatherings, this year attracting over a thousand guests from across the country and neighboring South Africa.
Behind the scenes, weeks of preparation were unfolding. “This year’
Leicester’s city center fell silent for one minute during the Rathayatra – Festival of Chariots on Sunday, 22nd June 2025, as a mark of respect for the lives lost in the plane crash, which has particularly affected Leicester, having lost 10 members of its community.
City and religious leaders, including Cllr Ravi Mahesh, the cousin of the sole survivor of the crash, attended the festival. The names of the deceased were read out by Temple President Pradyumna Das. “Though a joyous occasion, this y
By Atma Tattva Das
On September 28th, 2024, the vibrant streets of Soweto came alive with the joyous sounds of Hare Krishna chanting as devotees and members of the local community gathered to celebrate the 17th annual ISKCON Soweto Rathayatra Festival.
This year’s event was a spiritual spectacle and a heartfelt commemoration of His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami, a central figure in the festival’s creation and an inspiration to the community.
Mahaprabhu Dasa, the Temple President of ISKCON Soweto
By Atma Tattva Das
From July 11th to 13th, 2024, the streets of Kinshasa burst into life with the vibrant sights and sounds of the first-ever Rathayatra festival hosted by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This groundbreaking event marked a momentous milestone in the history of ISKCON Kinshasa, which began with humble beginnings and has now blossomed into a powerful beam of spirituality and cultural integration in Central Afr
The 9th Annual India Day festival was recently held in Moscow, Russia at the “Dream Island” Landscape Park. This past weekend’s event (August 15-18th), which is the heart of the multi-day festival, welcomed more than 600,000 people. Over 2 million were estimated to attend all the festival days.
Dozens of religious and cultural organizations participated in the massive event, which included 20 themed zones, each with a wide variety of tents. ISKCON Russia, one of the leading organizations invol
ISKCON Los Angeles – New Dvaraka held its 48th Annual Rathayatra (Festival of Chariots) procession on Sunday, August 4th. The popular festival parade was preceded by inaugural celebrations and a Saturday Kirtan Mela held at the New Dvaraka Temple.
Devotees from LA County, California, the US, and countries from around the world gather to volunteer and participate in the event, joyfully pulling the deities of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra along the two-hour route. “This Rathayatra was
ISKCON Toronto celebrated its much-anticipated 52nd annual Ratha Yatra festival this past month, marking the event as the largest in its history and in North America with over 60,000 participants.
Commencing on Friday, July 12th, the festivities kicked off with its famous 12-Hour Kirtan from 10am to 10pm. Participants from around the world flew in to be part of this epic day of dancing and chanting, led by renowned kirtan leaders. This year’s theme, “Spark your bhakti flame by chanting the hol
History was made on July 27th, 2024, when the first-ever Slovak Rathayatra Festival was held at Freedom Square in Bratislava, Slovakia. In addition to the joyful procession through the heart of the city, a successful festival was held, sharing prasadam, spiritual literature, kirtan, and other cultural programs. The hundreds of local guests who gathered in the country’s capital also received information about the three Hare Krsna centers and restaurants in the country.
Devotees from the United S
By Jagannatha Damodar Das
On July 7th, Surat hosted a Rathayatra that will be remembered for its grandeur and spiritual significance. The day dawned with mild clouds and gentle sunshine, providing a perfect setting for Lord Jagannatha’s divine journey through the city streets.
The atmosphere was charged with spiritual fervor as devotees, and curious onlookers alike thronged the path of the magnificent chariot. Despite the textile markets and shops along the route being closed, devotees tireles
By Mahamaya Devi Dasi
The 8th annual Orlando Rathayatra was held on Wednesday, September 7, 2022 at very unique location of the campus of the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando, Florida.
The Rathayatra took over the beautiful UCF campus and despite it being a weekday, a good number of devotees were present as well as many UCF students. Devotees and well-wishers pulled Lord Jagannath’s cart through the streets, led by a campus police car. Passersby were drawn to the procession by the
Every year on the Labor Day weekend, the devotees from Seattle organize a Rathayatra parade and festival for Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra in the Redmond area of the city. I was asked to start off the kirtan and after a while my god-brother, Hari Vilasa prabhu took over.
All Rathayatras are blissful and the Seattle devotees were ecstatic chanting and dancing before Their Lordships. I met one devotee who came all the way from Calgary, Canada to attend. The numbers grew as the parade wen
While I was carrying a box of Gitas from a bus at a rest area, a lady approached.
She asked, “I am wondering what your group is about — who are all of you?”
She said, “Everyone looks enthusiastic, energetic. There is something special about you people.”
She told me that she was traveling to LA with the family to drop her daughter at college. She said that they were all tired and lacked energy, but looking at the devotees, she felt rejuvenated.
I told her about ISKCON Silicon Valley’s traveling
By Madhava Smullen
Devotees in El Paso, Texas held their first Rathayatra parade on October 2nd, to an enthusiastic response. The city, which stands on the Rio Grande across the Mexico–United States border from Ciudad Juárez, has an 81% Hispanic population. It is home to a small Hare Krishna congregation, with weekly programs held at the El Paso Preaching Center by president Krishna Charan Das.
Rathayatra co-organizers Kesava Priya Das – who owns hotels in El Paso and all over Texas – and Chaita
By Mangalananda dasa
In June, of this year, devotees held the region’s first-ever Rathayatra Festival in the little New Brunswick village of Memramcook.
Devotees who live in less populated areas of Eastern Canada hold weekly in-home programs where they gather to chant the holy names, listen to lectures, and honor prasadam. In this area of Canada, they call themselves ISKCON Maritimes, which comprise of centers in Fredericton, Saint John, and Moncton, New Brunswick, and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
