Utsav, Seattle's annual festival of the performing arts of South Asia, is now in its third year. In our first year, 2004, our goal was to bring together the community of artists and connoisseurs who live in Seattle, the Pacific Northwest and the United States to celebrate our coming of age. Today the arts of South Asia are a vibrant, growing and dynamic part of America's heritage. Utsav 2006, for the first time, recognized the amazing depth and maturity of artistic talent in the South Asian arts that exists in our city, our region and our nation. Ragamala and Pratidhwani band together with Festal and Seattle Center House to present Utsav 2006. Utsav features performances of music, dance, theater and arts by accomplished local artists as well as command performances by some of the leading artists of South Asia. The fest opens with a fund-raiser "dinner & movie" screening of the rare documentary on Zakir Hussain, "Speaking Hands." Friday, October 13th evening features musical performances by master percussionist on the Mridangam, Trichy Sankaran followed by up-coming Sitarist, Gaurav Mazumdar, leading disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar.Saturday and Sunday, October 14th and 15th morning and afternoons will offer various music, theater and dance performances by local artists and groups inside the Seattle Center House House such as Pratidhwani dance & theater group, dance group Leela Kathak, vocalist Srivani Jade, sarodist Mallar Battacharya to name a few. Saturday, October 14th evening will take place at the Ethnic Cultural Theater and feature classical dance of Nepal, Charya nritya by Dance Mandal followed by Baratanatyam from South India by Monica Cooley. Sunday, October 15th, the festival will conclude with a sitar performance by legendary surbaharist/sitarist Ustad Imrat Khan at Kane Hall. Directors: Brandon McIntosh and Archana Kumar