On October 19th, Upper Hutt Multicultural Council hosted its 3rd Diwali Festival! 

As the Indian diaspora continues to grow in Aotearoa, they have brought over friendly faces, beautiful kai and the wonderful celebration of Diwali which has been thoroughly celebrated all throughout the motu. UHMCC has been quick to pioneer, having celebrated a Diwali festival three years ago. 

But this festival has changed slightly, as it was not only focused solely on beautiful traditional Indian performances often showcased for Diwali festivals. This event was truly underpinned by a multicultural kaupapa/ethos - something that our Acting President Kannan Alagappan had suggested - "Take a trip around the world, and see how Diwali is celebrated in the different cultures & nations which celebrate it outside of India"!

 What a genius. Diwali is after all, a hugely & widely celebrated event seen in many nations outside of India. In turn, this event was unique through showcasing the beauty of the likes of traditional Vietnamese, Malaysian, Japanese performances alongside traditional, semi-classical, and even new and innovative styles of Indian dance celebrated by all ages.

It was a joy to see the grace, beauty, energy and fun of each and every performance. Young, or old, there were smiles on everyones face, and cameras were up at every moment! It was simply too good of an event to not constantly capture the moment. 

A truly wonderful moment was when there was a quick break as the Narukami Taiko rōpu brought up their drums (for 

an amazing performance & for the wee rangatahi to drum around) - the Co MCs Phil Pithyou & Aarthi Candadai hosted a quick Q&A session with the crowd (see right!). Asking questions relevant to the festival and celebration of Diwali, this event was truly magical and full of engagement with the crowd. 

Furthermore, Upper Hutt Multicultural Council would like to acknowledge and appreciate both mana and tangata whenua. In particular, we would like to thank kaumatua Patrick Melaugh of Maidstone Intermediate for blessing the event with an opening and closing karakia, as well as his kapa haka rōpu's amazing performance at the beginning! It was truly a pleasure to have you involved Matua Pat!

See you all for the next Diwali festival!