Festival of Light – Diwali is set to take place on Friday, Oct. 18 at the Clarke Theatre at Heritage Park Centre. The event will feature food, a marketplace and a lively lineup of multicultural performances.
New to Mission this year is a 12-member Vancouver Vancity Lion Dance team with two lions and instrumentalists plus a newly trained group of Inspire Me Fitness BollyX performers.
Dasmesh Punjabi School, Abbotsford Arts Academy, Garba Dancers, Learning Stars Arts Academy, Mission Khalsa School, and Celtic fiddler Jennie Bice with tabla player Boris Sichon are also involved in the entertainment.
The free Fraser Valley event, hosted by Mission Community Services Society, draws almost 1,000 people every year. It begins with an ethnic buffet dinner at 5 p.m. followed by two hours of live entertainment starting at 6 p.m. and a marketplace of 25 vendors where patrons can purchase goods, have their hands painted by a henna artist or visit an array of community and commercial representatives.
Hundreds of mini lights on the gates of the Clarke Theatre entrance will herald the arrival of the public. Donations of non-perishable food items will be accepted for the Mission Community Services Food Centre.
Emcees are Satti Grewal and Abbotsford’s Kelly Chahal. Food sponsor/supplier this year is Mission Save-On-Foods. An Abbotsford gurdwara crew is preparing the hot ethnic meals.
Organizers said the family-friendly festival helps Mission become a more engaging, cohesive and knowledgeable community in cultural diversity.
For more information, call Rick Rake at 604-826-3634 or email rick.rake@missioncommunityservices.com.