‘Very important to this town’: Naperville weighs funding options for India Day

India Day in Naperville is much more than a festival, organizers say.

“It brings business, and it brings unity, and it just educates people on culture,” said Vasavi Chakka, a founding member of the Indian Community Outreach organization.

After the group did not receive any funding this year through the Naperville Special Events and Community Arts, or SECA, grant program, Chakka and others urged the city council to reconsider.

On Tuesday, council members will discuss potential funding options for India Day, an event that over the years has featured a vibrant parade, food vendors, fireworks and even Bollywood performers.

Krishna Bansal, chair of Indian Community Outreach, said organizers would love to continue the event in Naperville. But he also described other cities as “very interested” in hosting India Day.

“We want India Day to stay here, but timing is critical for us,” Viral Shah told the council at its most recent meeting.

India Day is observed in August, marking the nation’s independence from Britain. The first Naperville parade and festival were held in 2015, and it became one of the biggest India Day celebrations in the region.

“I think it's an event that's very important to this town. It's very important to our very large Indian American community,” Councilman Josh McBroom said.

Councilman Patrick Kelly also commented on the broader festival scene.

“We lost Ribfest, we lost Salute. There's a couple others that are maybe teetering on the verge right now. And I think all of these events collectively are really important,” he said.

“So I, in general, want to find ways to keep and or add events like these. India Day in particular, has been an excellent one for a number of years.”

Last year, the event did not take place.

“That was due to largely significant last-minute security requirements, which included metal fencing, metal detectors, security staffing and clear bag policies,” Shah said.

While organizers are in full support of public safety, “those new requirements created a major financial burden that we could not absorb without additional support,” he added.

Mayor Scott Wehrli said the new request for additional security measures was “based upon the size and success of the event.”

The organization sought $63,503 for city services, plus $335,000, an “operations request,” from the SECA program for the 2026 India Day parade and celebration.

About $1.2 million was available to the SECA commission for discretionary funding allocations. The commission individually evaluates applications and determines a “unified funding recommendation” for all requests, per city policy.

The commission’s list of proposed grants showed $0 for the Indian Community Outreach organization. In February, the city council affirmed the commission’s recommendations and approved the allocations.

The cancellation of the 2025 event was a concern for the commission, but it wasn’t the only one, Community Services Director Melanie Marcordes explained.

“They raised questions relative to the event’s budget and overall financial structure, including the revenue sources, sponsorship commitments and vendor participation,” she said.

Some had concerns about the scale of the organization’s funding request relative to other applicants and “weighed that alongside overall confidence in the event execution,” Marcordes said.

“I have no problems with the event itself, but I don't have confidence in the organization to be able to run it effectively,” Rachna Prasad, a commissioner, said at a December meeting. “Their lack of communication and transparency, I think, has been a problem. I wasn't able to get any answers out of them.”

Bansal said he “received zero communication from any SECA commissioner to discuss any of this.”

Revenue generated by the city’s food and beverage tax goes toward the SECA grant program. Kelly also expressed caution about “piecemeal” selecting “one or more events to give reconsideration to” after the entire SECA process is done.

McBroom, however, said it’s a different event, and he’s willing to make an exception.

One possible option is to fund city services only. City staff provided estimates for those services for both the 2026 parade and celebration totaling $49,463.

India Day organizers have kept admission free. It’s helped showcase Naperville as a welcoming place for businesses and families, Shah said.

“Losing India Day would not only mean losing a festival,” he said. “It would mean losing one of the few large-scale events that brings together many people from different parts of our community.”