T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM — Members of the Theravada Dhamma Society of Iowa are welcoming Marshalltown residents to a picnic and celebration on Sunday. The event will feature traditional Burmese foods, dancing, music and other entertainment.

Marshalltown residents are invited to an annual picnic at the Theravada Dhamma Society of Iowa (TDSI) on Sunday.

The public can arrive at the temple at 11:30 a.m. for the free meal and entertainment. TDSI President Ashin Tikkha said they hope 800 to 1,000 people will attend, and there will be plenty of food to share. The meal will feature traditional foods of the Burmese, such as chicken, beef, pork, fried rice, fried noodles, curries and egg rolls.

“At least 10 or 15 different kinds of food,” Tikkha said. “It will be like a buffet.”

The event actually begins at 6:30 a.m. for 35 Buddhist monks who will travel from across the country. At 8 a.m. the monks will pray and chant in a private ceremony. Traditional dancing, music and other entertainment will start at 10 a.m. and lasts until 5 p.m.

Jeff Heiden, a friend of the monks, said the dancing will feature many Burmese families who live in Marshalltown and Des Moines. He said the Burmese community contains a variety of ethnic groups.

“We have so many ethnic groups here, such as the Karen and Rakhine,” Tikkha said. “They have been practicing for five weeks, every Sunday. We also have a Micronesia dancing group.”

Heiden said many of the community members work at JBS, which is a sponsor for the celebration.

Tin Lia, community liaison for JBS, said the addition of more nationalities, such as the Micronesia population, is new this year. He said the temple will also host a volleyball tournament on Saturday for the different nationalities. The teams will be from Marshalltown, Des Moines and Waterloo, and JBS is providing prizes for the top teams.

“We want to make it more visible to the community,” Lia said.

Heiden said the annual picnic, while well-attended by people from other locations, the hope is more local people will be there. Tikkha agreed, saying local people are welcome to visit the temple at any time.

“They just want to be part of the community and let people from Marshalltown and other towns know,” Heiden said. “They can come and look at the Buddhist statue, which is the tallest in the United States. A lot of people don’t realize this is right outside of town. They are very welcoming. They want you to feel like you can come out here. You don’t have to be a Buddhist. You can come out and celebrate this big event.”

The celebration, held every August, is primarily held to promote unity, Tikkha said. The second reason is to teach the culture to the generation who have grown up in Marshalltown and Des Moines.

“The third, I don’t want to forget our traditions,” he said. “And especially for Buddhist people, how to pay respect to our religion. Our monks also, when we celebrate like this, can get together.”

Lia said the Buddhist community wants to have a better image in Marshalltown.

“Not only for Buddhists. We respect and welcome other religions, as well,” he said. “For example, I work at JBS. I’m a Christian, but I’m part of the project. I love to come to the temple.”

After the public arrive and dine, the TDSI monks will give a presentation at 12:30 p.m., followed by a donation ceremony at 1:30 p.m. Heiden said the monks do not receive any sort of salary.

“It’s a procession, people line up,” he said. “They get donations from the people. They can donate money or supplies. It’s really interesting.”

Lia said donations are used to fulfill financial needs of the temple, and to help pay for future projects. They have plans to build a Buddhist school on the temple grounds, which is required by the religion.

“This new project, which is under contract now, will cost $700,000,” Lia said. “They will use it for Buddhist education.”

Ashin said the construction of the school will begin this month, and is scheduled to be completed in December.

EVENT DETAILS

Where: Yaw Nwe Dhamma Center Theravada Dhamma Society of Iowa, 2942 240th St.

Day: Sunday

Time: 11:30 a.m.

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.