The ROM celebrates with a fantastic line-up of food, music and dance
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) presents South Asian Heritage Day on Saturday, February 21, 2009 from 11 am to 5 pm. The afternoon, celebrating the first anniversary of the opening of the Sir Christopher Ondaatje South Asian Gallery in the ROM’s Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, offers exciting family-friendly activities, including arts and crafts, story-telling, live music and dance and sumptuous South Asian cuisine. South Asian Heritage Day activities are included with general ROM Admission.
Learning has never been so much fun! At 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm, acclaimed children’s author and poet, Rina Singh will intrigue listeners with her tale, The Foolish Men of Agra. Younger visitors can enjoy South Asian inspired arts and crafts, terracotta painting and an investigative artifact treasure hunt, as well as dress-up in traditional South Asian garments like sari's, kameez's, ghagras, bangles and bindis.
From 12 pm to 3 pm, a special line up of South Asian music and dance takes centre stage in the Samuel Hall Curelly Gallery. At 12 pm, two dance groups from Punjabi Virsa Arts and Culture Academy (Punjabi VACA) perform the Bhangra style of dance from North India. At 1 pm, Sampradaya Dance Creations, with artistic direction from Canada’s first South Asian Order of Canada recipient, Lata Pada, performs a dance from South India in the Bharatnatayam form. Then at 2 pm, visitors will be treated to a colourful and interactive Garba form of dance from North India performed by a talented group from Swar Sadhana: School of Indian Music and Dance. Throughout the afternoon, from 1 pm to 4 pm, flutist Ajanthie Mathanakaran will perform the ‘bansuri,’ a mystical and ancient instrument, in the Ondaatje Gallery on Level 3 of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal.>/p>
Would a cultural celebration really be complete without delicious food? The ROM’s Food Studio will offer a delicious South Asian-inspired menu, including chick pea pakoras, cilantro and coconut chicken curry and mango custard. From February 20 to 22, c5 Restaurant Lounge, the Museum’s fine dining restaurant located at the top of the Lee-Chin Crystal, celebrates South Asian Heritage Day with additional menu items, including coconut curried butternut squash soup with cilantro scented papadum, lamb vindaloo pot pie, prawn pakoras and for dessert, a mango panna cotta with coconut gelato. The ROM Museum Store has a collection of South Asian books, music and merchandise available for purchase.
South Asian Day at the ROM is proudly supported by Friends of South Asia (FSA). To learn more about FSA, visit: www.rom.on.ca/members/fsa.
Groups of ten or more may call ROM Group Sales at 416.586.5889 or e-mail groupsales@rom.on.ca for information on special rates and private guided tours.
About the Sir Christopher Ondaatje South Asian Gallery
Opened in February 2008 and located on Level 3 of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, the Sir Christopher Ondaatje South Asian Gallery presents the ROM’s important collection of the artistic and cultural traditions of South Asia. Spanning over 5,000 years, each artifact reveals aspects of South Asia’s long and diverse history. Nine thematically organized exhibit areas present the ROM’s outstanding collection of South Asian religious objects and sculpture, decorative arts, arms and armour, miniature paintings and textiles, originating from countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tibet. The original gallery, the first in Canada to highlight South Asian culture, opened at the ROM in 2000.