Truro goes to Bollywood

Tickets sold out for East Indian evening of food, dancing and prizes

A local family is bringing a little piece of Bollywood to Truro to raise money for a good cause.

The Khanna family, teamed with the Rotary Club of Truro, is once again hosting their annual Bollywood Night on Saturday, Sept. 30, at the Holiday Inn & Conference Centre.

This marks the fourth year the East Indian evening of food, dance and prizes will be held in Truro, and will feature an East Indian dinner, a silent auction and a balloon blitz.

“The balloon blitz is always popular at these events,” said Alana Hirtle, president of the Rotary Club of Truro.

“It is $20 a balloon, and each balloon has a prize inside them. The grand prize is a $1,000 tennis bracelet from Inglis Jewelers. There will also be dance performances, a photo booth and a dance which will wrap up the night.”

Half of the money raised from ticket sales, as well as money from the silent auction and balloon blitz, goes towards a charity chosen by the Rotary Club and the Khanna family.

“We support campers every year to attend Camp Tidnish,” said Hirtle.

“Each year their prices go up, and we have a set amount of funds to go towards it. This year we thought it would be a good idea to try and support some additional campers.”

During the evening, the club and the Khanna family will present the chair of the Camp Tidnish committee with a cheque for $3,500, which is the total from the already sold out tickets.

A total tally won’t be known until the end of the evening.

The idea for Bollywood Night came up when the Khanna family decided they wanted to give back in some way to the community they loved, a community that welcomed them when they moved to Truro four decades ago.

“The Khannas felt very much part of the community very quickly, and always felt if they were ever in a position of influence and could make a positive change, it was their responsibility to do just that,” said Hirtle.

Unable to organize the event themselves, the family approached the Rotary Club of Truro for help with organizing and structuring the event.

“Om and Meena Khanna approached the club about three and a half years ago wanting to give back to the community,” said Hirtle.

“They felt they didn’t have the capacity to organize the event, but they had contacts, so we worked together with them to organize the event.”

Since the first year, the event has raised over $16,000 for charity, including the Colchester Community Workshops, Third Place Transition House Association and Maggie’s Place.

Doors will open for ticket holders at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, and the event will begin around 6:30 p.m. followed by a dance at 8:30 p.m.