THE City of Richmond will celebrate one of the brightest occasions, the Festival of Lights – best known as Diwali – at the Richmond Cultural Centre on Saturday, October 25. Whether this is your first time joining in the festivities or you have been celebrating all your life, you are invited to a fun-filled community celebration from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

“It’s a pleasure to once again welcome the annual celebration of Diwali, the Festival of Lights in our community” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie. “Richmond is proud to be an inclusive community, where cultures from all over the world live together in harmony. Diwali is a great opportunity for all of us to celebrate the diversity that makes Richmond unique and a great place to live.”

This free, family-friendly event will feature Indian and Japanese traditional and popular dance performances, storytelling, music, children’s activities, refreshments and lots of opportunities to connect with neighbours, new and old.

Diwali is a five-day festival and is India’s biggest and most important holiday of the year. The festival gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (or diyas) that Indians light inside and outside their homes to symbolize the light that protects us from spiritual darkness. This festival is as important to people who practice Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism as the Christmas holiday is to those who practice Christianity.

The Richmond Diwali celebration is presented in partnership with City of Richmond Community Services and is supported by Coast Capital Savings, the Bank of Nova Scotia and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation of Canada. This event is also endorsed by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation for bringing people together and encouraging people to learn from their neighbours’ cultural traditions.

The Richmond Cultural Centre is located at 7700 Minoru Gate. For more information, contact Suresh Kurl at stkurl@telus.net or Alan Hill at ahill@richmond.ca.