While the weather has been great and sunny in the Cincinnati area over the past few days, we had a deluge of some sort at our website ! 

It gives us a sense of fulfillment to be able to engage with the community in this manner and makes our effort in keeping the website and facebook pages updated, worthwhile. 

The other important and welcome update is that the Conveners have extended the Durga Puja pre-registration deadline by 15 days. The rates will now go up on September 16th. Take advantage. Keep visiting. 

Tomorrow August 31st, is the last day for registering for Cincinnati Durga Utsav at the early bird rates. Thanks to all the folks who have already taken advantage of the online registration feature on our website. Before the weekend runs out and we get into the Monday madness, please take a few minutes out and register through our Registration page here. 

A warm welcome is also due to all the new families who attended the Summer Picnic yesterday. We will save their formal introductions to the community for our next event - Temple Lunch - on October 4. A lot of us also registered for the Durga Puja at the summer picnic - which is always nice because we avoid paying the online commission charges. So if anyone has an opportunity to hand over the registration check to one of the members of the organizing team, please do so - or you can always mail your check to our official address.

Meanwhile, check out the Picnic pictures here and re-live the fun, food and action that you took a part in !

Hopefully, most of us are planning to attend the annual picnic on August 29 at the Keehner Park in West Chester. The organizers are planning a really fun event for everyone and we are looking forward to having a great time ! 

This event is very special to us for a number of reasons. Among others, this is where we kick off our Durga Puja registration process each year and this time too, our Registration Team will be available with their forms and card readers to collect our registration amounts. This would be one of the last opportunities to register at the Early Bird rates. Our rates will go up on September 1st. So please do not forget to carry your check book or credit card to the venue if you want to save those extra dollars :-)

To all our sponsors, well wishers, patrons & participants - as many of you know that at the Cincinnati Durga Utsav we do not have any differential registration rates or reserved seating arrangements - and we believe, rightfully so! 

Our registration rates are just about enough to barely cover the costs of the event that attracts 300+ people over a 3-day period from different states in this region including IL, MI, OH, KY, NJ, GA, WV and others. That is where our sponsors come in. We have been very fortunate to have a wide variety of businesses supporting this event. Take a peek here to check out our CDU 2014 sponsors! We request our members and participants to always think of our sponsors when they are looking to avail any service. We know many of us already avail their services today.

The online payment feature for our sponsors is LIVE on our website now ! We welcome our sponsors and well-wishers to take advantage of the feature to reserve their spots in the widely-circulated CDU Brochure.



 

If you have been around the town visiting Indian grocery stores, you would have seen the Cincinnati Durga Utsav posters come up in the past few days !!! Yay! Our posters continue to use the same color scheme and design layout that we have been using for past couple of years. Consistency is a critical function of brand building as some of our members will profess :-)

If you do not see our poster at your favorite store, please let us know and we will send across a Rapid Action Force to address the oversight asap.

The Early Bird registration rates are effective until August 31, 2015! Registering now is a great way to take advantage of the pre-registration rates - those go up considerably by the Gate Registration time on the puja days. And what better way to secure the registration than carrying your checks to our Annual Summer Picnic on August 29th. Yes .. the Registration Team will be there with the forms to collect your contributions and registration details. So, remember to carry your checks with you .. and don't forget to respond to the Picnic e-vite .. don't want our food to run short!

Of course, for the digitally inclined, you have the convenience of registering for the Pujo here and even for the Picnic here with just a few clicks.

The Cultural Programs are taking shape as we speak .. look forward to some interesting updates including invited artists and how Yamaraj's svelte wife becomes the central character in the machinations of present day society.

Ever since the last post eulogizing the CDU 2014 brochure and the good work done by the team, it seems there has been a renewed interest among us and we have been fielding questions on where one can grab a copy of that brochure!

Well, thats great news ! First, it tells us that you are reading our posts with great interest and second, you are prepping up for the big event .. which is just about 2 months away now.

Last year, a print version was made available only to the members. That's one of the benefits of taking the annual membership. And you can do that online here.

An e-version is made available to everyone for a limited time after which it is archived in a downloadable format in the Members Corner. If you are a member but do not have access to the Members Corner, just send us a note through the Contact us form on our website and we will re-send you the login setup link.

It’s that time of the year when we ask you for your creative submissions for the Cincinnati Durga Puja Brochure. Those of us who have been participating in the event over last few years have witnessed first-hand how the quality, both in terms of content as well as workmanship, have improved by leaps and bounds - from being a book to be stored god-knows-where to being at the center of our coffee tables. Much kudos are due to our amazing Brochure Team to have led this transformation !! 👏👏👏 

But they could not have succeeded without the wonderful stories and poems, pictures and artworks, that you have sent over to be published. So, lets continue that practice and send over:

1.   Short Stories or Written Prose (1-2 Pages)
2.   Recipes
3.   Poems
4.   Sketches / Photography

Also, remember to send over any special news about your children and family that you would like to share with the community. 

The last date to submit your creative work is September 20th, 2015. Please submit all your materials using email, post or in-person to Smita Sengupta at

4419 Meadowbrook Ln,
Mason, OH 45040
(smita_m@yahoo.com)
 
Let Smita know if you have trouble sending the file due to its size and format. Rest assured, she will bring forth her technical prowess and editorial wizardry to help you get over those humps. So, without further ado unleash that author, that poet, that artist, that chef, that creative self in you ! 👍👍👍

We are excited to release the online registration feature for Cincinnati Durga Utsav 2015 on our web site ! 

Online registration for Cincinnati's only annual Durga Puja is now active ... please use this to pre-register at attractive rates! Pre-registration continues till August 31, after which rates will increase.