It may just be the hottest ticket in town.
Seats for the inaugural Diwali celebration at the Churchill Community Centre on Nov. 11 sold out in just two days.
The event will be hosted by Indians in Innisfil, which is a new group that was formed by 18 people less than four weeks ago.
“Diwali, the Festival of Lights, holds profound significance in Indian culture and Hindu religion, symbolizing the triumph of light over darkness. It is a time of happiness, togetherness and giving back to (the) community,” said Alka Wadhvana, one of the event organizers.
The attendees of the Diwali celebration will enjoy plenty of traditional Indian delicacies, an Odissi dance — which is one of the classical dance forms in India — by professional artist, Tamanna Rao, and Neil Wadhvana will sing two Hindi cultural songs.
There will be a raffle and door prizes, a talent show and many fun activities for children, including face painting. The evening will conclude with a fireworks display.
This event is sponsored by a variety of local businesses, including Pizzaville, Sobeys, Starbucks, and Petro Canada, in addition to small businesses, mortgage agents and realtors.
InnisfilToday asked about holding the event on Remembrance Day and another organizer, Loki Swain, said: “We stand united together. We stand with our forces and we have (the) utmost respect for our veterans. Without them, the freedom and peace we all enjoy would not be possible.”
“The Innisfil Royal Canadian Legion (branch) is extremely happy to attend the Diwali celebration. All the proceeds from the raffle tickets will go to the Legion to support the community. Also, as every year, many of us will be attending the Remembrance ceremony at the legion in the morning,” he explained.
The Diwali celebration will also benefit the Innisfil Food Bank.
“This is our opportunity to give back to the community, honouring our traditions, vibrant cultural values, inclusiveness and building a stronger community together. If people are not able to come, we encourage them to drop off the donations to us,” Wadhvana said.
Prior to the creation of the Indians in Innisfil group, “there (were) many people from Indian origin (who) live in Innisfil and had to go outside of town to be part of some of these key events, so we feel proud to have our own Diwali celebration locally," he said.
The members of Indians in Innisfil look forward to hosting more events in the future.
“After seeing the excitement and support from the community, we feel confident to be organizing many events which will allow the residents of Innisfil to come together to learn about each other's cultures and build a stronger community together,” Swain said.
This celebration runs from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. To learn more about Indians in Innisfil, visit the group's Facebook page.
