The India Association of Rhode Island (IARI) will be hosting their second annual New Year’s Eve cruise, aboard the spacious and elegant Bay Queen’s Jubilee yacht, on December 31.  "Last year’s event was a phenomenal success, a complete sell-out, with people coming from as far as Lowell, MA, and a party from the UK.  There was a keen demand from the community that IARI repeat the event given the magnificent time everybody had," said Ravi Chander, IARI Vice President.

According to Sharad Bhatia, IARI President, "This is one of a kind New Year’s Eve celebration, certainly for our community in the New England area.  Yes, there are celebrations galore at hotels and restaurants in the area. But we wanted to do something that would be special and would stand out in people’s memory long after the event. And Rhode Island's gorgeous Narragansett Bay offers us the perfect opportunity to do something special and memorable."

The cruise takes place inside the Bay Queen company's largest boat, on a heated deck with large view windows. Easy access is provided to an upstairs open deck, and a smaller aft deck, where, weather permitting, scenic nighttime views of the bay, and Providence can be seen. Landlubbers need not worry about sea-sickness: Narragansett Bay is a huge bay, and well-sheltered from ocean tides.

The reporting time at the pier in Warren, RI is 7:45 pm.  The yacht will return to the same location around 1:00 am.  Free parking is plentiful at the pier.

The cruise will feature multi-faceted entertainment: live dance performances, live singing, live ‘dhol’ and ‘dholak’ player, open dance floor with pulsating state-of-the-art sound with professional DJ Vijay from Boston.  Be it the latest pop, bhangra, disco, or old time Bollywood music that you fancy, you will find the kind of entertainment that appeals to you.

"We'll have a better entertainment program, better than even last year.  We’ve always believed in the variety entertainment format, instead of dancing non-stop to DJ music for five hours," said Uttam Narsu, IARI Secretary.  A special guest will be a new, amazing talent who recently relocated to Rhode Island: Shreekant Thaker.  Sharad Bhatia: "He’s simply phenomenal, and I’m sure he’s going to have quite an impact in our region."  Vijay Mohan will enliven the evening with live ‘dhol’ and ‘dholak.’

Appetizers will be served as the boat leaves the dock, and as soon as people settle down, the program will begin. A multi-course buffet dinner will be catered from renowned Taste of India, and will be served on china and linen befitting a five-star hotel.  New Year’s champagne toast is included in the price of the ticket. Drinks can be had from a cash bar.

Prizes will be awarded in several categories: best dressed (male and female), best dancer (male and female), and ‘life of the party.’  “This proved to be very popular last year and so will be repeated this year,” said Ravi Chander.

Tickets are $60 for IARI members, $65 for non-members, and $45 for children under five. For full details, contact information, or to purchase tickets through Lokvani see:

http://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/cal.php?stage=1&event_id=5586

|