When the Indian Heritage Society (IHS) started the Arts in the Park – Kala Utsav back in 2013, the idea was to use open spaces to bring communities together in a bid to revive cultural heritage, traditional folk and the classical arts. Now, in its fifth year, the festival scheduled for December, is set to expand to south Mumbai's business district of Ballard Estate.

The event, which is still in the planning stage, will be held with the support of the Mumbai Port Trust (MBPT), the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Bombay Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said chairperson Anita Garware, who is the brain behind the now-defunct Banganga Festival, and Mumbai Sanskriti, the classical music fest held annually on the steps of Asiatic Society. "Our aim at IHS is to raise awareness about our natural, cultural and built heritage. And for this, we have been encouraging participation of the local communities in open spaces," said Garware, adding that Arts in the Park, which will be held at South Mumbai's Priyadarshini Park on November 24 and 25 this year, is an offshoot of this idea.