By: Charity Meier | Novi Note | Published July 22, 2025
NOVI — People came out in droves for the 40th annual Festival of Chariots in Novi on July 20.
The annual festival celebrates happiness as the Hindu deities of Lord Jagannath, Balarama and Subhadra are paraded through the streets of the city in a 40-foot chariot that is pulled by worshippers and other festival attendees.
“It was crazy. We had so many people there. It was insane,” said Madhu Mahadevan, festival spokesman.
Mahadevan said the crowd at Fuerst Park was so large this year that parking was scarce, and as a result, some people were unable to attend the festival. He said some of his friends told him that they had tried to attend but were unable to find a parking space. They told him there wasn’t even a spot behind Novi High School.
“We had people that couldn’t come into the site because it was so full they couldn’t find parking,” Mahadevan said. “I mean it was packed.”
City Councilwoman Priya Gurumurthy said that it is not surprising that the crowd was so large this year. She said that she believes that only 1 in every 5 people who attended the event was from Novi.
“It’s just expanding. So, people from all over, they drive and come here — Sterling Heights, Royal Oak, even (from) Auburn Hills I saw someone,” Gurumurthy said. “So, people are coming from all over, which is a great thing.”
As part of the festival, free food that had been blessed was handed out to attendees.
Mahadevan said there were so many people in attendance that for the first time in its 40-year history, they ran out of complimentary sanctified meals. He said they didn’t just run out, but they ran out in approximately three hours.
The festival organizers determine the approximate number of attendees based on the number of plates that they give out. As a result, they said it is hard to say this year how many people attended the festival.
According to Mahadevan, the large crowd could be attributed to Grammy-nominated singer Gaura Mani performing at the festival for the first time in at least five years, an increase in the festival’s social media presence, and other media attention.
The festival also featured a helicopter rose-petal drop, several local musical and dramatic acts, and approximately 20 vendors offering traditional Hindu and Indian clothing, jewelry, henna tattoos, and more, along with food vendors, yoga and children’s activities.
“It is a beautiful way to bring us all together for almost the whole day,” said Gurumurthy, who participated in the opening ceremony. “It’s a colorful, community kind of event. It’s a colorful way to bring us all together and celebrate as a community.”