Life + Arts

Fraternity festival makes a comeback

UH’s Alpha Chapter of Delta Epsilon Psi is hosting its annual Festival of India March 31 through April 3. The event will take place in Houston for the first time since 2008, when it attracted over 4,000 attendees.

“FOI is a huge deal to our fraternity,” Alpha Chapter President Mukesh Pillai said. “It is already known as one of the nation’s top 10 South Asian cultural events, which is a huge milestone. We originally threw FOI in 2008 and it was a very big success.”

Pillai says the most anticipated event of the weekend will be the talent show that will be held at the Cullen Performance Hall.

“The premiere event of the weekend that FOI really prides itself on every year is the talent show,” he said. “We have more than 10 of the best teams from all around the nation ready to put on a great show. The event itself is MC’ed by Dan Nainan and we are bringing Penn Masala, an acapella group from Pennsylvania, to perform 2 lengthy acts in the talent show. The winner of this talent show will be leaving with $4,000.”

This year’s FOI is receiving support from some major sponsors such as Network Booking & Talent Agency, Cosmodesigns, Aleberry, IndoRaja, Masala Radio, Gujurati Samaj of Houston, So For Real Marketing, Voice of Asia and Jethva Law Firm.

The weekend will also feature a celebration of Holi on Saturday at Lynn Eusan Park on campus, along with a highly competitive basketball tournament — where the winning team will receive a $3,000 cash prize.

Finally, the weekend will provide nightlife parties for college students. The official launch party presented by Delta Phi Omega, Kappa Phi Gamma and Delta Epsilon Psi will take place at Evo Lounge with veteran disc jockey DJ Indo spinning. Friday night’s party will be held at Club Isis and will feature a special performance from Houston rap legend, Z-Ro. The final party will take place on Saturday night at Stereo Live and will feature another special performance, this time by platinum-selling artist Slim Thug.

With such a rich history, this year’s FOI looks to only build on the legacy that events of the past have left.

“The event first originated in 1992 under a different name,” Delta Epsilon Psi alumni Ajith Kay said. “What once was known as a local celebration in Houston has grown to an annual statewide event that attracts over 4,000 participants throughout the weekend. Since then, the event has traveled to different cities such as Austin, Dallas and College Station. The event gained monumental traction in 2008 in Houston, as the brothers of Alpha Chapter made history by attracting over 4,500 people throughout the weekend. Since then, the bar was raised to increase that number annually. This year, as it returns, we intend to surpass that number.”

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