Spice up your life at Auckland Diwali Festival

26 August 2013

Spice up your life at Auckland Diwali Festival

Aucklanders have the chance to experience the sights, sounds and tastes of India at the annual Auckland Diwali Festival on 19 and 20 October in Aotea Square and Queen Street.

The event – on from midday to 9pm – is Auckland’s largest free multicultural vegetarian festival and is set to attract thousands of Aucklanders over the two days.

Auckland’s 12th annual Diwali Festival is one of three major social anchor events run by ATEED (Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development).

ATEED General Manager Destination & Marketing, Rachael Carroll, says this year’s event will really stimulate the senses by creating a festival that resonates more intensely with the ‘feel’ of India.

“Life happens on the street in India, so at this year’s festival we’re infusing more street theatre and surprise events than ever before, to inject even more spontaneity into what is already an exciting event,” she says.

“Auckland is known for being a multicultural city and the Auckland Diwali Festival is an amazing opportunity for people of all ethnic backgrounds to embrace a traditional Indian festival which has become an iconic event for our city,” adds Ms Carroll.

The festival will see Aotea Square and Queen Street transformed into an Indian Mela (bazaar), with more than 50 food and craft stalls offering delicious vegetarian cuisine and Indian sweets, as well as a colourful array of clothing, jewellery, henna, handicrafts and art.

A live performance stage will showcase a mix of traditional and contemporary dance from local and international artists and there’ll be the hotly contested Radio Tarana Bollywood dance competition.

Other festival highlights will include the Rangoli craft workshop where children can create Indian artworks and classical music workshops for people to have a go at playing traditional Indian instruments.

The event will end on a high note on the Sunday evening with the Diwali Finale Fireworks display, presented by Barfoot & Thompson.

This year’s festival will also coincide with the Prayas Theatre Company’s play Rudali – The Mourner on at the Herald Theatre at The Edge from 17 to 27 October.

Auckland’s Diwali Festival is organised by ATEED in partnership with the Asia New Zealand Foundation.

Asia New Zealand Foundation Chair, Philip Burdon says: “We work to build New Zealanders’ understanding of Asia, and events like Auckland’s Diwali Festival provide an ideal platform to showcase the talents of our Asian communities.”

Diwali ‘The Festival of Lights’ is an important and ancient Indian festival celebrated by thoughts of people around the world each year. Diwali symbolises the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil and the renewal of life.

To find out more about Auckland Diwali Festival visit www.aucklandnz.com/diwali

ENDS

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