Naperville’s India Day Parade has been canceled, less than two months after organizers announced the festival to be held on the same day would not be happening.
“This was not an easy choice,” a social media post on the Indian Community Outreach Facebook page said. “However, we believe that hosting a partial event would not reflect the energy, inclusivity and excellence our community has come to expect — nor would it align with ICO’s mission: to Educate, Integrate, and Empower.”
India Day, a daylong event featuring a parade, food, vendors, live music and other activities celebrating Aug. 15, 1947, the day India won its freedom from British rule, has been an annual Naperville event since 2015 and one that grew to be one of the largest Indian American festivals of its kind in the United States.
Both the parade and fest were to be held on Aug. 10 until organizers announced in early June that the festival at Rotary Hill Park was being scratched due to growing costs and reduced funding. Only the parade would be held, event founder and organizer Krishna Bansal said.
With that now off the schedule as well, efforts will be put into planning “a vibrant and unforgettable” India Day Parade and Celebration for 2026, the Facebook post said. They are also “exploring the possibility of an event for the remainder of the year.”
Bansal was not available for comment.
Refunds will be issued this week to those who have already registered and paid to be part of the event, the post said.
Bansal previously told the Naperville Sun that part of the mounting costs were tied to city requirements that fencing be placed around the perimeter of the event grounds and metal detectors set up at controlled entry and exit points. Rules also require that attendees be limited to only bringing clear bags with them when they enter the event.
Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres said at the time that the heightened security requirements are not necessarily new, but they are “something we’ve really been pushing towards for the past few years and are finally getting traction.”
The same rules are in place and will be implemented for Naperville’s Last Fling festival, which will be held downtown Aug. 29-Sept. 1 on Jackson Avenue. Additionally, minors will not be allowed inside the fest grounds if not accompanied by an adult.
India Day is not the only celebration to be canceled this year. Naperville Salute, an annual Fourth of July event also held at Rotary Hill, also will not be held this year. Organizers did not go into detail but said the cancellation was done to preserve the long-term health of both the event and the charitage organization behind it.
Another longtime Naperville festival came to an end last year. Although Ribfest had not been held in the city for a few years, the organizers decided the annual event would end after 35 years.
cstein@chicagotribune.com
