Members of the Indian community of State College gathered Saturday night in the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Centre County, 780 Waupelani Drive, to celebrate the festival of the god Ganesh.

This is the third year in a row the local Indian community has gathered to celebrate the festival to Ganesh, festival volunteer Viral Dholabhai (graduate-electrical engineering) said.

Volunteer Sameer Sawant (graduate-electrical engineering) said the festival encompasses the practices of all the different cultures of India.

"It's for the whole community," Sawant said. "All Indian cultures celebrate it, from the South, East, everywhere in India."

Dholabhai said the festival of Ganesh helps Indians begin new stages of life.

"We do this festival before we start new things. Ganesh is the destroyer of bad things," Dholabhai said.

The festival started with a procession outside, in which a statue of the god was carried into the church.

Prayers to Ganesh were said, followed by a series of cultural events showcasing classical Indian music, dancing and singing.

Children participated by singing several traditional songs between the other cultural events by adults.

During the proceedings, State College Mayor Bill Welch gave C.R. Rao, professor emeritus, a lifetime achievement award for outstanding achievements in science.

"He is not simply a man of statistics, but he is also a humanitarian," Welch said.

Rao is a recipient of the National Medal of Science. His award for lifetime achievement was organized by the Indian community in the graduate engineering program.

"There is more than one way of getting applause rather than dancing and singing," said Rao, who was given a standing ovation by the crowd during his acceptance speech.

Following the cultural programs, the participants had a traditional Indian meal for dinner.

Area Indian restaurants India Pavilion Exotic Indian Cuisine, 222 E. Calder Way, Shalimar Indian Restaurant, 120 E. Beaver Ave., and India Grill, 132 Sowers St., all donated food they prepared to the festival.

"This festival is really all about giving," Dholabhai said.

People from India in the State College community feel more connected to their native culture at events like the Ganesh festival, volunteer Amit Jain (graduate-industrial engineering) said.

"I'm from India, so it's important to keep in touch with the culture when I am so far from home," Jain said.

This event was sponsored by several nonprofit organizations. The Indian Student Association, the Graduate Student Association, the Penn State Hindu Vedic Society and the Cricket Club of India all contributed to funding the Ganesh festival.