WHAT’S ON

ARTS

Parramasala

9-11 March A free, public celebration of the diverse and rich cultures in Sydney, the multicultural arts festival Parramasala will offer entertainment, food, markets and music from over 40 different cultures in a positive, diverse and friendly atmosphere. Details www. parramasala.com

FILM

Queer Screen: Mardi Gras Film Festival Sun 25 Feb (7.30pm)

Evening Shadows (Hindi lm with English subtitles) at Event Cinemas, George Street, Sydney. Directed by Sridhar Rangayan and starring Mona Ambegaonkar, Ananth Mahadevan, Devansh Doshi and Arpit Chaudhary. Details www.queercreen.org.au or www. trikone.org.au

COMMUNITY

Women’s Day celebrations

Sat 17 March (10:30am-3:00pm)

International Women’s Day 2018 celebrations hosted by UIA Women’s Steering Committee. Haveli Function Centre, 57-59 Main Street, Blacktown.

Details 0450 450 191

THEATRE

Kai Aur Main

Fri 9 March (7:30pm-9:30pm) Written by Javed Akhtar. Starring Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar. Kai Azmi’s ghazals and lm songs performed by Jaswinder singh (with live orchestra).

Director Ramesh Talwar. Sir John Clancy Auditorium, 9 High Street, Kensington.

Details 0425 204 364

FUNDRAISER

Royal high tea for Breast Cancer awareness

Sun 25 Feb (1.00pm-5.00pm) RJ

Events and Design presents a Royal High Tea fundraising for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. The event features information sessions and survivor experiences, as well as exclusive high tea indulgence, entertainment, raf e draws, giveaways. Details Loreen Lal 0432 440 889.

VALENTINE’S DAY

Valentines - Love Continues

Sat 24 Feb (7:30pm-12:30am) Hosted by Aus-Indo Cultural Group Inc. Net proceeds will go towards Lifeline Fiji Project. Rooty Hill RSL 55 Sherbrooke Street. Details 02 9677 4916

Festival

Cumberland Festival of Colours

Sat 3 March (12.00 noon onwards)

Hindu Council of Australia, supported by Cumberland Council, celebrates Holi the festival of colours at Civic Park, Targo Rd, Pendle Hill. Free event featuring cultural presentations and festival shopping opportunities along with variety of food stalls. Details Vikrant Pahuja 0402 676 548.

Holi Festival of Colours

Sat 24 Feb (12 noon- 7.00pm) CIA and The Ponds and Kellyville Ridge Community Association present Holi, a free event featuring Holi colours, food, stalls, music and entertainment. Plaza Park, Pebble Cres, The Ponds. Details Praful Desai 0411 964 506

Holifest (Festival of Colours)

Sun 25 Feb (11am-4pm) Apart from colours, this multicultural festival will also feature live on stage performances, food stalls, children’s fun rides and entertainment activities, non-stop music and heaps of entertainment. Castle Hill Showground, Doran Dr, Castle Hill.

Details 1300 338 368

Rockdale colour festival

Sat 3 March 11:00am to Sun 4 March 9:00pm Rockdale Bicentennial Park, West Botany St, Rockdale. Details kameroevents.com.au

Holi Mela Parramatta

Sun 4 March (11:00am-5:00pm)

Between Wilde Avenue and Queen Street, Parramatta. Details Anuj Kulshretra 0426 155 227

Holi Mahotsav

Sat 14 April 10:00am to Sun 15 April 7:00pm Tumbalong Park, Pier St, Sydney, Australia 2000. Details: www. holimahotsav.com.au

ENTERTAINMENT

Bappi Lahiri show

Sat 10 March (7:30pm) Whitlam Centre, 90A Memorial Avenue, NSW.

Details Rakesh 0411 621 371

Unity Bollywood Concert

Sat 24 Feb (7:00pm-11:00pm) An impressive line-up of performers will inaugurate Bollywood Live-in-Concert. Diamond Showroom, Blacktown Workers Club, 55 Campbell Street Blacktown. Hosted by Fame Events. Details 0412 779 418.

Gujarati Comedy Factory Show

Sun 25 Feb (6:00pm) Hosted by Star Alliance Entertainment. 42 Campbell St, Parramatta. Details 02 9191 9638

Tarang

Sat 17 March and Sun 18 March (3:00pm onwards) On the occasion of Rhythm Dance Academy Sydney’s 9th annual day, experience various art, music and dance forms with three wellrenowned overseas artists, 15 Sydneybased artists and RDA’s whole bunch of students in a two-day festival Tarang. UNSW Science Theater Kensington, Sydney. Details harshudance@gmail.com

Indian Standup Comedy Festival

Sat 24 March (7:00pm) Featuring Mahdeep Singh, Manish Tyagi and Gaurav Gupta. 632 Old Northern Rd, Dural. Details gumberv@yahoo.com

MUSIC

Su Night

Sat 3 March Humwatan presents Ustad

Rafaqat Ali Khan. Parramatta RSL Club Cnr Of O’ Connell St & Macquarie St, Parramatta. Details 0433 433 455

Kannada Musical Melody Night

Fri 16 March Multiple award winner

Santhosh Venky, melody queen

Nanditha and rapper Chandan Shetty to perform. 108 Silverwater Road, Crn Egerton Street. Silverwater. Details 0401 432 282

SPIRITUAL

Sri Ramakrishna’s birthday celebration

Sun 25 Feb (From 10:30am, concluding with lunch) Spiritual music, silent meditation, Vedic chants, live music by India Jiva: Ron Ragel & Vicki Hansen, panel exploring interfaith relations with Rev. Bill Crews (Exodus Foundation), Ida Walker (Baha’i Community) & Pravrajika Gayatriprana. Facilitated by Robert Grant. Vedanta Hall, 15 Liverpool Rd, Croydon. Details 9745 4320

Ram Navami celebrations

Sun 25 March (12:00pm) 25 Rose Crescent Regents Park NSW 2143. Details 1300 524 724 or www.shirdisai.org.au

Life enrichment program (Fortnightly) G.O.D. Australia Sydney Chapter invites school children to Gopakuteeram, A life enrichment program imparting universal values through stories from Indian scriptures, slokas, bhajans, choir, games, drama, art festivals and more. These two-hour, fortnightly classes start from 4 February at 4.00 p.m. Namadwaar 44 Oakes Road Winston Hills. Details Jayashree 0420 522 629

The Journal of Dharma Studies http://www.springer.com/ philosophy/philosophical+traditions/ journal/42240 (previously, the International Journal of Dharma Studies) through Springer Publications, has been launched under the editorship of Rita D Sherma and Purushottama Bilimoria. Submissions and details ldunn@ses.gtu.edu

Holika Dahan

Thu 1 March (7:00pm-8:30pm) Shri

Shiva Mandir, 201 Eagleview Road, Minto. Details Chetan Sharma 0415 809 963

Bhajan Kirtan

Sat 3 March (6:00pm-7:15pm)

Shri Shiva Mandir, 201 Eagleview Road, Minto.

Details Chetan Sharma 0415 809 963

TECH FOR KIDS

Annual Code Challenge: Your school is invited!

DXC Technology Foundation announces its Annual Code Challenge using Scratch, a fun and free coding platform for beginners. Free event, open to all children aged 10-14, groups and schools welcome to join. All that is required is access to a computer, an internet connection and an imagination! Teams will have until April 27, 2018 to develop and submit an online project. Entries will be evaluated by our panel of judges for creativity, originality, technical merit and accuracy and good programming practices.

Details dxc.technology/dxccodes or email dxcgivesback@dxc.com

MISC

Domestic violence awareness program Sun 25 Feb (10.00am1.00pm) Indian Support Centre and CIA present a seminar on domestic violence, featuring information session, Q and A, victim and survivor experiences, contact resources, and oath to end DV. Venue Australis Institute of Technology Lvl 2, 25 George St Parramatta. Details Jaspreet Chopra 0430 705 830