Help fund repair of or build a NEW RATHA CART for Rathayatra 2022

Each year in January for the last 8 years we have held a lovely festival called Ratha Yatra here in Whangarei. The festival is where we pull a beautiful cart through the town and afterwards have a lovely feast in the park adjacent to Food for Life. It is a colourful, fun festival that uplifts the whole town. The last festival we had was held on the 23rd of January and many people attended and enjoyed the festival. Sadly before the event the cart suffered extensive damage, regardless of the damage the festival went ahead despite the damage to the cart but we don't have the funds to repair it. We are kindly asking for any donation big or small from anyone that can and is willingly to help so we can repair this one if possible and we have the exciting news that we are planning to build a additional Rath Cart that will mean that we will have two carts for the festival. The carts are not just used once a year they are also used in many festivals in Auckland as well.

We were heartbroken to see the damage done but we are determined to rise above this setback and come back better than ever...please come and be part of the journey. We also actually have a manual on how to build an authentic Rath cart which will only be a possibly with your help.

The repair on the original cart will need to start soon and building a new one will take some time so any funds will be used to start the project right away.

'Rath Yatra is a very ancient traditional festival from India and is now seen in every major city of the world. It is a fun and colourful festival that involves a large (over 7 metres high) decorated chariot (Rath) which is pulled by ropes by the public through the main streets of town accompanied by music and dance.

There is much spiritual and cultural significance to the festival. '