Day one of the “Rabindra Utsab 2023: “Where the mind is without fear” festival took place Saturday, May 6 at the Renton Civic Theatre. Local youth of South Asian descent showcased classical and folk dance, live music, poetry readings and art.

A worldwide celebration of the 162nd birthday of Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali poet and the first non-European to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the festival was the first of its kind to take place in the greater Seattle area.

“New Jersey, Vancouver, Texas — all have this celebration, but this is the first one in the Pacific Northwest,” said event curators Vasudha Sharma and Piyali De, as the festival took place in Renton on Saturday and Bellevue on Sunday. The festival also highlights Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which is observed in May.

Tagore won the 1913 Nobel Prize for “Gitanjali,” a collection of poems, and composed the national anthems in both India and Bangladesh. Performances of Rabindra Sangeet, or Tagore Songs, were a large part of the event.

Photos by Bailey Jo Josie / Renton Reporter