15,000 participate in 4th of July celebrations

EDISON, NJ: Over 15,000 diversified Americans from various faiths, religions and color celebrated American Independence Day on 4th of July in Edison, NJ organized by South Asian Community Outreach (SACO).

The South Asian Community Outreach organization kicked off the July 4th American Independence Day Celebration at the sprawling Edison Municipal Park, aka Lake Papaianni Park near Edison Municipal Complex in Edison, NJ. The event was held between 4:00 pm and 9:30 pm.
“This celebration is very significant as it is a loud expression in the form of this celebration by the South Asian community, whose members have contributed a great deal in sustaining the economy of New Jersey”, said State Senator Thompson.
The event was sponsored by TV Asia, JFK Health Care Systems and Edison Lions Visionary Club. There were plenty of food booths, kids rides, cultural programs from Indian, Chinese, Jewish and American performers. The event concluded with a grand spectacular firework display. The event was televised live by the grand sponsor TV Asia exclusively.
South Asian Community Outreach (SACO) is a non-profit organization and Sam Khan is the founder and Chairman. The mission of South Asian Community Outreach “Unity in Diversity” has been widely supported by the local community. The objective of SACO is to build a bridge between various ethnic groups in the diverse Central Jersey community and create a social, cultural and political awareness among South Asian community in America. SACO provides South Asian immigrants with an opportunity for transition and integration into the community.
Sam pointed out that the South Asian community is moving forward to be a force to reckon with in mainstream America. “We are connected with our roots while making our contributions as responsible citizens of the United States”, said Sam, who has galvanized the community to play an important role in integrating diverse ethnic groups in Central New Jersey.
“People of South Asian origin are proud to be part of the American culture”, said Piyush Patel, Chairman and leader of the 2012, 4th of July Celebration Committee. Mr. Patel also stated, “We are celebrating the American Independence Day as our way to express our gratitude to this great nation”. Independence Day celebrations symbolize these objectives of our organization.” For the first time SACO brought people from different faith, culture, religion and color cooperatively to celebrate the 4th of July festivities.
Among the Guests of Honor were State Senator Joe Kyrillos and State Senator Samuel D. Thompson, Edison Mayor Antonio Ricigliano, President Robert Karabinchak, Tom Lankey and other members of the Edison Council, President of Edison Chambers of Commerce Ms. Barbara Roos, leaders of Indian and South Asian Community H R Shah, Ramesh Patel (FIA), Dr. Sudhir Parikh, Bipin Patel, Anil Patel and Farooque Kidwai.
Mr. Khan & Exec VP Sarvesh Dharayan attributed the event’s success to the sponsors and the SACO team consisting of Mahesh Chitnis, Srujal Parikh, Nilesh Dasondi, Ankur Vaidya, Iliyas Qureshi, Parul Amin, Kaushal Thakkar, Imran Khan, Ram Gadula, Thakur Balsara, Natu Patel, Rati Patel, Seema Jagtiani and the entire team.

India Post News Service