The City of Bellevue has teamed up with the Indian Association of Western Washington and Crossroads Shopping Center to celebrate India’s 64th Independence Day.

Though the Indian community of Bellevue holds its own celebration every year, this will be the first time that Bellevue will sponsor the festival.

“We are excited to support the Indian community which has contributed so much to the life and success of Bellevue,” said Tom Boydell, manager of the Office of Economic Development for Bellevue.

The festival will take place at Crossroads from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Aug. 21, and will being with a short parade around the shopping center featuring different regions of India. It will also feature 20 plus vendors with clothing and jewelry as well as dance performances throughout the day.

“This was an excellent opportunity to showcase a piece of our local community and bring that culture to everyone else,” said Charlsey Webster, the marketing director at Crossroads.

According to Nalini Niranjan, board member with IAWW as well as the event coordinator for the festival, the Indian Association hopes that the festival will bridge the Indian and non-Indian communities in Bellevue.

“Typically our festival draws a large portion of the Indian community,” she said. “But this year we want to reach out to the mainstream American community, educate them about the food, music and dance of India.”