Mother Teresa Celebration-India Festival benefits India Mission Joy projects

For Hub City Times

MARSHFIELD — Aug. 27 from 4-7 p.m. at Marshfield High School will be a night of food, music, and dancing at the first annual Mother Teresa Celebration.

Mother Teresa, a true champion for the poor of India, will be canonized as a saint by Pope Francis on Sept. 4 in Rome.

India Mission Joy, a group of people from Marshfield, will be traveling to India in January of 2017. The group will fly to Calcutta and visit the tomb of Mother Teresa and the Mother Teresa orphanage. In addition to Calcutta, the group will be going to New Delhi, Jaipur, Agra and the Taj Mahal, Chennai and St. Thomas’ tomb, and southern parts of India.

Money raised at the Marshfield celebration will be used to fund India Mission Joy projects like putting restrooms in St. Ignatius High School in Kokkudy, India; new restrooms in St. Joseph’s Convent Orphanage; a well in Kokkudy; and a bridge to a cemetery. Past projects that India Mission Joy worked on include building a computer room along with supplying the computers and printers in St. Ignatius High School and help with the new high school and a generator for the orphanage.

The meal consists of authentic Indian food catered in from Minneapolis. The meal will be buffet style and include chicken biryani, tandoori chicken, rice, potato cauliflower fry, paneer chicken masala, naan, globe jam, curd, and much more. Kingfisher, an Indian beer, will also be served. The meal will end with a Mother Teresa birthday/sainthood celebration cake.

The cost is $15 for adults and $6 for children. Meal tickets are available in advance at Hiller’s True Value or at the door the day of the celebration. Food will be served from 4:30-6 p.m.

Music will be performed by an India native who lives in Marshfield. Kadambaari is a professional singer who has performed in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, India, and the entire United States. The music will start in the auditorium at 6 p.m. followed by Indian dancers from Minneapolis and Chicago.

Other activities include a Mother Teresa presentation, India clothing sale, Bollywood dance instruction, yoga instruction, Henna painting, a silent auction, and an Indian wedding demonstration.

India Mission Joy is currently looking for volunteers to help with the celebration. To volunteer or for more information about the celebration, contact Dennis Boucher at 715-305-1960 or at dennismarshfield@yahoo.com.