Exotic Colours, Rhythms and Flavours at the Swan Festival of Lights Deepavali Celebration

Details: Category: Arts & Culture; Published: Saturday, 31 October 2015 07:08; Written by Nita Teoh

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Photo Credit: Swan Festival of Lights

The celebration of Deepavali is just around the corner and festivities will take place at the annual Swan Festival of Lights event at the Supreme Court Gardens in Perth from the 6 to 8 November 2015.

The success of past Festival of Lights events has attracted many Perth locals to celebrate the universal theme of light triumphing over darkness with the community. And this year will be no exception, with the family friendly event expected to attract people into the city to celebrate and enjoy the cultural festivities.

Highlights include Indian vegetarian cuisine from the famous Annalakshmi on the Swan restaurant from 430pm. Delicious hot curries, a selection of Indian breads such as dosai and uttapum, and tasty samosas are some of the tempting delights that will be on offer. For the foodies and budding chefs, watch the chefs as they skilfully demonstrate the making of Indian favourites such as dosas, puris and parathas. And if you’re a dessert buff, keep a look out for the gulab jamun, a milk based sweet.

Stages performances by talented musicians will take place from 630pm each night with exotic dance and music acts to keep the crowds entertained. The Temple of Fine Arts International will be presenting snippets from the Indian epic Ramayana. This year, there will be special performances from groups ranging from the Charlesworth Ballet, and Chung Wah Chinese Dance, through to Taiko on Japanese drummers, and the Pribumi Balinese Dance.

This year, there will be special attendance by members of the Gujarati community to represent their local community in WA including special performances by the Gujarati Samaj Dance. On the food front, there will be the traditional preparation of vardoo, a Gujerati dish.

Browse the Lavanya Arts stall for some Indian fashion – there will be a wide selection of arts and crafts on offer including purses, handbags, fine prints, jewellery, clothing – exotic sarees, ornaments and art pieces at very reasonable prices. It’s a great opportunity to grab some gifts in the lead up to Christmas.

Take part in special workshops over the course of this free 3 day family friendly event. The kids will enjoy making artybrellas or a spot of face painting, and for the adults, you can get your own unique henna tattoo.

The event will be supporting charities such as the Heart Foundation. Keep a look out for the interactive Lock in the Love installation which will be at this year’s Festival of Lights to celebrate the key themes of community spirit, health and good food.

For transport options, access to the event is an easy 10 minute walk from the Perth Underground or the Perth train station on Wellington St.

With only a few more weeks to go, it’s a special event not to be missed, so mark it in your calendar and head on down to the Supreme Court Gardens to catch some Deepavali action at the Swan Festival of Lights in Perth.