First a disclaimer: The proper religious path is a personal choice we all must make based on how a particular faith best suits our unique quest for spiritual betterment. Okay, that said, everybody knows the Hindus have some of the coolest gods around. You'll be able to see them in the
Festival of Chariots at Discovery Green. Also called a Ratha-Yatra, the chariot festival started in a temple in India. Once a year, massive icons of the creator god Jagannath and his two brothers are wheeled out of the temple in enormous wooden chariots reaching almost 50 feet high and taken through the streets so that people can view them. (Incidents of folks being crushed under the elaborately adorned chariots are where we get the word ''juggernaut'' from.) The chariots are massive, looking a bit like brightly decorated small buildings.
Art Car Parade fans have seen previous chariots, which are built from scratch every year by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) of Houston. This is the first time the festival features the full and proper three chariots, as is the practice in India. People are encouraged to help move the gods along the path (we don't have to remind you about that whole juggernaut issue, do we?). Food, music, meditations and yoga activities are also on the schedule.
5 p.m. 1500 McKinney. For information, visit iskconhouston.org/houstonfestivalofchariots. Free.
Sat., July 13, 5 p.m., 2013
