Festival of the Chariot comes to Cork

Cork city centre looks likely to see large crowds and colourful displays this week, with a homecoming for the Cork senior hurling team expected on Monday evening, but the weekend should also bring some spectacle to town, as local members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), also known as the Hare Krishna movement, will celebrate Ratha Yatra.

Ratha Yatra, or the Festival of the Chariot, traditionally takes place in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, and has been celebrated in Dublin for the past 21 years, but will this year be marked for the first time in Cork.

The celebrations in Cork’s city centre will begin around noon on Sunday July 28, and will see a chariot being pulled to City Hall, where a celebration will take place.

The event follows on from the celebration of the festival of Holi in Fitzgerald Park in March of this year, which saw the then lord mayor of Cork, councillor Kieran McCarthy, join approximately 1,500 people for a show of colour and joy.

Organisers say all are welcome Sunday’s event, and they hope to make new friends in Cork.

ISKCON, otherwise known as the Hare Krishna movement, has around 10 million congregational members worldwide, and its core beliefs are founded upon Hindu scripture. It was founded by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda in New York City in 1966.