The South Asian Family Association (SAFA) has announced that the Sawan Mela Festival will be a two-day event this summer, spanning the Lower Mainland.

The festival takes place Friday, July 11 starting at 6 p.m. in Cloverdale and on Sunday, July 13 starting at noon in Vancouver’s Punjabi Market.

On July 11, SAFA will present a unique event at the Cloverdale Millennium Amphitheater in Surrey: Bollywood Under the Stars, an outdoor presentation film Sholay.

SAFA has contracted Fresh Air Cinema to show the movie on a 44-x-31-foot screen. Sholay is described as the ultimate Bollywood Curry Western. It is the highest grossing film of all time in India, and ran for 286 weeks in one cinema in Mumbai. In 1999, BBC India declared Sholay the Film of the Millennium, and it also won the Filmfare Best Films of 50 Years award.

Pre-screening celebrations will include entertainment by local talent, a poetry and essay-writing contest and a birthday cake celebration to mark the province’s 150 years.

This is an event for the entire family. There is no fee for the movie and parking is available at the amphitheatre.

On July 13, Sawan Mela 2008 will kick off in the heart of the Punjabi Market at the new Sunset Community Centre in Vancouver. Throughout the day, performers from around the Lower Mainland will sing, act and dance. There will be culinary delights for all to enjoy.

SAFA will present the Scholarships for Academic Excellence and Community Involvement at the event.

Sawan Mela is a free festival and street parking is available in the area.

To become a member, contact SAFA at [email protected].

For more information, contact Nina Sohi-Brar, 604.721.7778 or e-mail [email protected].