The Annual Diwali Festival of Lights will be held on Friday October 28, from 5.30 to 9.30pm in Franklin Square, Hobart. This is a sensory experience of sights, sounds and taste from almost all the regions of India.

The official ceremony of lighting the lamp is scheduled from 6:45 to 7:15 pm. Key community leaders will participate.  The event is organised by Deepavali Tasmania Inc. in partnership with Street Eats @ Franko and supported by the City of Hobart and the Government of Tasmania, together with sponsors such as SBS and UTAS.

The festival (otherwise known as Garland of Lights) celebrates the victory of light over darkness, good over evil and truth over ignorance.

Almost a quarter of the earth's population comes together to celebrate one of the year’s happiest holidays. Like Christmas, it’s now celebrated across the world – not only by Hindus but also by Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains and others. The festival, by its very nature promotes friendship and harmony.

In Tasmania, Diwali is a very significant multicultural festival that attracts 5000-6000 people from many Tasmanian communities.

The festival offers family-style entertainment with colourful dances from rich traditions and cultures. Over 100 performers from 15 Indo-ethnic communities from 7 nations will provide continuous entertainment for 4 hours. There will be a range of cultural performances, dances (from classical to Bollywood), music and singing which will culminate in a finale including audience participation in infectious and joyful dancing for half hour.

This is also a culinary festival noted for Indian cuisine. There will be stalls for Indian costumes, activities and artefacts to browse. There will be turban tying, Mehndi (henna tattooing using fascinating Indian iconography, face-painting for kids all using safe plant dyes and much more.

Diwali Tasmania welcomes all members of the Tasmanian community to join in an evening of joy and friendship and general celebration!

For more information email: Diwali.Tasmania@gmail.com or contact Mithun Bacheval at 0470 699 257 from the Diwali Organising Team.