The UK yatras were out in full force for the World Holy Name Festival (17 – 24th September) this year.
The week kicked off with Kirtan Fest in Leicester, where the holy names were chanted throughout the weekend. This year’s festival was made extra special as it was celebrating the 35th anniversary of Sri Sri Radha Madhava’s installation, and that the Grade II listed temple was able to welcome new guests as part of Heritage Open Day, where historic buildings in the city open their doors to visitors to get a glimpse behind the scenes.
In Newcastle, devotees dedicated their monthly Sacred Street Party in the city centre to the World Holy Name Festival. Over thirty devotees were joined on the streets by HG Jai Nitai Das and HG Bhava Bhakti Devi Dasi from ISKCON London for the event, and did two hours of kirtan, distributed 54 of Srila Prabhupada’s books, 180 prasadam sweets, and 900 mantra cards. Temple President HG Chaitanya Vallabha Das said: “It was a wonderful event to bring our whole community together for the purpose of sharing Krishna Consciousness, especially the Holy Name!”
Devotees from Bhaktivedanta Manor took to the streets of Surrey for the Festival, where they visited Slough, Windsor, Staines and Kingston for harinam. Around a dozen devotees, some from the ashram and some from the community, took part in the event, which was organised by the regular Saturday daytime Harinam team. Despite the rain on the 22nd, the devotees had a great day, distributing about 350 bags of fruit and nuts prasadam, some books and leaflets inviting people to the temple.
Your servant,
Mina
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