The 4th event of Essence Of India was staged in collaboration with China. More than 2,500 people from all ethnicities attended this outdoor cultural event on Saturday afternoon, fostering cultural bridges between the communities through deeper understanding of the two ancient cultures. Several businesses and entrepreneurs also came together to support and sponsor this unique event which coincided with India’s 68th Independence Day.

The event started with a beautiful rendition of God bless America by Suzanne Buell followed by Chinese and Indian national anthems. Senator Jamie Eldridge opened the event with his keynote speech, congratulating the Indians on their Independence Day. He also presented official Citations from The Senate and the Governor, recognizing the good work done by Essence of India on the occasion of India's Independence Day.

The event started with an invocation from Swati Panda of Shrewsbury, and then alternated between colorful Chinese and classical Indian dances and musical performances. These included Yanqin by Dora Shen, Guzheng/Pipa ensemble, Sitar by Jawwad Noor, tabla by Rohit Panchakshari, Kathak by Himanshi Patel from Nashua, Odissi by Srabonti Bandyopadhyay, Kuchipudi by Melissa Uditnarain and Shilpa Vikas. The event ended with Jasmine Shah's students' heartwarming Vande Matram dance. Emcees Tim Ren and Meena Subramanyam did a superb job of running the event smoothly and on time. Sound engineer Jawed Wahid brought his experience and expertise to the event and did full justice to all kinds of music.

Besides performances, there were various vendors and interactive booths that offered exciting and new experiences. The attendees also enjoyed excellent Chinese food by Bamboo and delicacies from Bollywood Grill. Long lines at all times could be seen at the food counters.

The interactive Indian art booth managed by Rhea Sen, Avni Mishra and Neha Khandekar offered tutorials on folk and tribal artforms of Madhubani and Warli art. Next to it, Yaping Ren and Qin Guo offered equally enchanting experience with the Chinese brush art. At the Indian craft booth Arpita Pathak helped making rakhis and diyas (lamps), while Yang Yang helped with paper cut crafts at Chinese craft booth. Kanan Vyas Jain and Sandhya Gupta educated people about the Indian spices next to the Chinese herb booth.

Special attractions included drones and robots, creating as much excitement as the perennial favorites, the Kite and henna booths. Dr. Srilatha set up a medical booth to help with the elderly patients. Shishu Bharti and AID Boston ran several activities throughout. It was lovely to see the colorful kites flying in the sky of NARA park.

The attendees variously complimented the event coordinators Seema Kapoor and Sunanda Sahay, as well as their Chinese collaborators Dawn Wang, Xianghai and Nina Wang. The event ran smoothly and on time, and credit must be given to all the volunteers who helped manage the event, such as Jaya Pandey who proficiently managed the stage and the flow of artists and events.

The EOI event was supported and sponsored by the Town of Acton Recreation Department, Cultural Councils of Acton-Boxborough, Concord, Lexington, Littleton, Sudbury, Shrewsbury, and Westford. Other sponsors included Massachusetts Cultural Council, Bollywood Grill, Bamboo, Enterprise Bank, and Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare.