HICKSVILLE, NY (TIP): The preparations for the second India Day Parade of Long Island (IDP) scheduled for August 11 seemed to be shaping up well for the 66th anniversary of India’s Independence with the kick off held here on July 17. The organizers expect over 25,000 people to march with the parade or witness it as it starts from Patel Brothers Plaza on South Broadway and proceeds towards North Broadway.

A fabulous cultural bonanza is planned as the culmination of celebrations of India’s independence. Information made available said 15 floats and 25 booths have already been booked. Miss USA 2005 Chelsea Cooley, the Guest of Honor at the 2013 IDP, was introduced at the kick off by Bobby Kumar, a co-Founder of IDP. The other co-founders, as claimed in the flyer, are Kamlesh Mehta and Harendra Singh.

Indu Jaiswal, the Chairperson of IDP was away to India and could not take part in the kick off. Introducing Cooley, Bobby Kumar said Ms Cooley’s participation will add ‘East Meets West’ factor to the parade and build bridges between Indian and other communities. “She has committed to be present throughout the parade and even sing a few songs,” he said. The tall beauty from North Carolina, who is a member of the BQ Girls pop/R&B group, sang a few lines and said she was excited and honored to take part in the parade.

The organizers claimed that Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano will walk in the lead as in the 2012 parade. Key volunteers & committee chairs announced include Flora Parekh, Sunita Sadhnani, Mala Bakshi, Dr Sukhwinder Ranu, Ajay Batra, Vijay Goswamy, Ashok Varshney, Dr Parveen Chopra, Animesh Goenka, Jaya Bahadkar, Tina Shah, Rajesh Kumar and Gobind Munjal.