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The 155th Canada Day was celebrated at the Milton Sports Area Event Area A on July 2 with much joy. After singing the Canadian and Indian National Anthem, the Canadian Indian Association of Halton Region President, Mr. Jagmohan Mainra, addressed the event and welcomed all dignitaries and guests. More than 500 guests attended the function. Mr. Mainra said in his speech, “As we celebrate Canada Day today, let us embrace our differences and learn to rejoice in them. India, like Canada, has a lot of diversity and history. This is why most Indians fi nd it so easy to integrate and embrace Canadian life. Cheers to the wonderful Karam bhoomi (the land that gave us our present & future) and cheers to our Matr bhoomi (the land that gave us life). Jai Bharat, Jai Canada.”

The famous Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra, also known as the Festival of Chariots, is believed to be the world’s oldest and largest chariot procession. Jagannath is another name for Lord Krishna. Once a god’s deity is established in a temple, it usually is not moved. Lord Jagannath is one of the rare deities taken out of his temple each year for a procession where it is said, he visits His devotees, and the public welcomes Him in the streets. The Ratha-yatra showcases the Lord’s love for His devotees. Milton’s ISKCON temple held its 3rd Festival of India on June 26th, 2022.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is popularly called ISKCON. It also is referred to as the Hare Krishna movement. ISKCON has more than five hundred major centers, temples and rural communities, a wide variety of community projects, including FOOD FOR LIFE, and millions of congregational members across various countries. ISKCON’s Milton branch started in the year 2017.

A record $110,000 was raised at the 7th annual ‘TEEING OFF for a MIRACLE’ in support of charity. The Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation’s (TJSF) charity golf tournament sold out five days!

“I am overcome with so many different emotions right now that it’s hard to explain what the journey was like in bringing back this event after Covid shut all of our live charity events over the past couple of years”, says Tiger Jeet Singh Jr., President of TJSF. “I would never have expected the out pour of support that we received from sponsors and players. My heart goes out to every individual that came together in making this year’s event a tremendous success!”

In July Milton’s own Superstarr Liam along with many other Superstarr’s and Superhero’s hosted a fundraising event for Sick Kids Foundation at the Milton Community Park. The weather was fantastic and the event was attended by hundreds of friends, supporters and community members. Free volunteer lunches were generously donated by Milton’s East Side Mario’s restaurant (Thanks to Zain Raza and Jordan Bassett)

Milton is a place of possibilities but sometimes the wheels of bureaucracy and zoning can interfere with entrepreneurship and job creation. That’s why local Milton Councillor Rick Di Lorenzo brought forth a proposal to Milton Council for Town Staff to bring forth a home business program pilot project in our town. Milton’s current bylaws are highly restrictive on home businesses and don’t take into consideration some of the small micro-businesses that many families could start from their homes.

July 4th marked Milton’s 165th Birthday and to help celebrate the historical day local Milton Councillor Rick Di Lorenzo held a Milton Birthday Bash at his home where he along with his family invited anyone in Milton to come pick up a slice of Cake and talk about all things Milton. It was an all evening event with residents coming in at different hours to pick up a slice and talk about local news and items in our town.

Milton held a well-planned and highly attended Eid Gala this year with vendors, food stalls, Henna artists and much more. The event was organized by Event Ontario and was held on July 7 in Milton and was a joy for all who attended. We had more than 40 vendors present their products to more than 2000 visitors who showed up to do their last-minute shopping. Event Ontario has been organizing and managing EID Gala for more than 10 years in Milton, and we have started planning already for the next year.

Everyone knows that the numeric 0, Ayurveda, and yoga come from India. The religions of Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism also originate from here. But did you know the popular game – shoots and ladder, was created in India? This game was designed to teach morals and lessons on Karma to children. There were a lot of hidden gems that we discovered about India during the first-ever India Heritage Day during Asian Heritage Month.

The Milton Public Library and the Canadian Indian Association of Halton Region (CIA) collaborated to showcase the vibrancy of Canadian Indians in our town. While talking to the CIA President, Mr. Jagmohan Mainra, he said, “We are so happy to get the opportunity to share our culture with the town. Canada and India are pretty similar as we both have a rich diversity that we share. I want to thank MPL and Erin for the opportunity. Erin Auger, the Manager of MPL, was instrumental in making this happen.”

If ever there was a doubt that traditional books were giving way to e-books and the like, you only had to attend the recent CFUW Milton and District Book Sale on May 13 and 14th at Milton Mall, to lay that thought to rest.

Kathy Lawdays, CFUW book sale organizer shared, “We have been expecting this type of shift in reading habits for several years but it doesn’t seem to have happened. It seems nonfiction books are not as commonly available for e-readers nor are books for young children. Many people still prefer the feeling of a good book in their hands.”