KENSINGTON — For more than 30 years, the Pakistani independence day festival, which has been held in Brooklyn since its inception, attracts Pakistani-Americans from around the country with booths of authentic Pakistani cuisine, a main stage with pop artists from Pakistan, handicrafts, boutiques and children’s entertainment. The annual mela (Sanskrit for “gathering”) street fair celebrates Pakistan’s 1947 independence from Great Britain. 

Mohammad Razvi, CEO of the Council Of People’s Organization, a non-profit group in New York City serving the South Asian community, has been organizing the event for nearly 20 years. His connection to the festival goes back even further; Razvi’s father, Abbas Razvi, founded the parade in 1990.

“I’ve been attending this event since I was a teenager,” Razvi, 52, said. “It holds a very special place in my heart.”

The message of the parade has always been helping people sustain their sense of culture, according to Razvi.