VIBRANT BRAMPTON DAZZLED WITH PHENOMENAL PERFORMANCES!

Brampton’s biggest two-day festival, Vibrant Brampton returned for its third year on July 27 and 28 with brilliant programming through their diverse artist lineup. Organized by the non-profit group Arts and Culture Initiative of South Asia (ACISA), Vibrant Brampton took place at Sheridan College Grounds, Davis Campus in Brampton.

Friday’s damp weather did not deter the fans or the performers who came back to the venue the next day to enthrall the audience. Co-headliners, Sirens of Shanti, Parichay, Miraya and Punjabi duo Harpreet Dhillon and Jassi Kaur gave back to back performances to close out the show on Saturday night.  Hindi Fusion band, KARMA, gave the audience a brief taste of their fantastic music before the storm took over on the 27th. Enakshi Sinha and Tamar Illana’s performance of a fusion of Kathak and Flamenco left the audience in awe. Nrityadeep was flawless in their performance and Jadoo Entertainment filled the stage and showcased some great moves. Friday afternoon saw performances from Trey Cuban, and Melle Rose, both singers who regaled the audience with their voices and commanded the stage with their performances. Anthony (Tonie) Tirado had many on stage learning to dance the Cuban salsa. Vibrant Brampton brought an eclectic mix of programming from various ethnic backgrounds. The Punjabi pop duo Harpreet Dhillon and Jassi Kaur ended this year’s festival with great bhangra music on the 28th after having been rained out on the 27th. Indo-Canadian Bollywood heartthrob Parichay and International multi-talented artist, Miraya Varma,  along with Saregama singing sensation Sumana Ganguly gave phenomenal musical presentations.

Kids enjoyed having their face painted and were able to jump around in the inflatable ‘bouncy’ castle. The festival, previously organized at the Garden Square had a bigger venue this year and was proudly sponsored by RBC, Value Mobile, Downtown Brampton BIA and funded by the City of Brampton and Canadian Heritage. This event was also supported by Stop Diabetes Foundation, Canadian Blood Services and Beaux Arts, Brampton.

ACISA also presented a two-week long visual arts festival titled Visual Arts of South Asia (VASA) that ran from July 15 to 28. This year’s theme was “Colours of South Asia”. It was held at Beaux Arts in Downtown Brampton and showcased new and established artists.

Many food vendors supported the event such as Lazeez Shawarma, golas from Gola Guyz, chats and pav bhajji from Monsoon as well as dosas and idlis from Dosa & Chutney to name a few. Everyone had an opportunity to try out lots of different kinds of food.