CUPERTINO, CA: “Diwali is the imperative Indian Festival. It is a festival of joy, color and beautiful beginning”, says Mahesh Nihalani, Organizer of this gala event. The 10th annual Diwali festival was held at Cupertino’s Memorial Park, 21267 Stevens Creek Blvd., 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 13. This free event brought approximately 10,000 people to beautiful Memorial Park in Cupertino, and was a showcase of multicultural music, dance, fun kids zone, workshops, arts and crafts, fun, frolic and food.
The event was hosted by Cupertino Chamber of Commerce and its Asian American Business Council. Their mission was to “promote, strengthen and enhance the inter-ethnic business environment in the Cupertino Chamber”. The organizers say “the Diwali Festival has proven to be an excellent way to bridge our business community with the residents of Cupertino.”
“The annual Indian event, which is practiced as a mega event, marks the beginning of the new business year. It is a time to celebrate and traditions include buying new clothes, exchanging gifts, get-togethers with family and friends, offering traditional sweets and wishes for a prosperous New Year”, says Mahesh.
When it was started way back in 2002, it had few stalls and crowd of 250 and now after 10 years it is one of the most important Bay area events and had a stall of about 80 booths including food and kids play zone, says the board members. The festival itself has grown bigger and the organizers hope will grow manifold in years to come.
The event had kids dance performances with everything from the classical “Kathak” and “Bharatanatyam” to Bollywood to the folk “Koli”. There were about 45 performances and it started at about 10:30 am and continued till 4:30pm. Students from Dance Karishma, Bollynitra, Little Champs, Kathakanjali, iDance, Ushanjali School of dance, BayArea Nritya Guru, Nupur Dance Academy, Sudanta Dance Academy, Kathak Kale Vicar and Dipti’s Dance Group displayed brilliant performance which they did with utmost professionalism and perfection. The kids danced to famous foot tapping Bollywood numbers and classical works. It was a perfect blend of classical and modern dance event.
There were about 80 booths and had vendors from all facets. Booths showcased ethnic Indian art, clothing, jewelry, toys and children’s books. Clothing, jewelry, yoga centers, insurance agents, realtors, non -profits, grocery stores had set up their stalls and catered to the community. Akriti Fashions, Desi Boutique, Mita Kapadia, Rais Design, Shashi Clothing, Sara Store and Vaama Clothing are to name a few in clothing. Non-profit organizations such as Shirdi Sai Darbar, Shirdi Sai Parivar, Hindu Swayam Sevak Sangh and Lil Krishna had their booth and explained the Indian roots and heritage to the crowd.
This year’s Diwali festival had a larger Kids Zone with magic show, face painting, petting zoo, pony rides, wood workshop, jump house, and a coloring contest.
Grand finale was by Harjeet Mehdi, well established versatile artist who is currently based in United States. In spite, of being younger brother of world famous Bhangra pop star Daler Mehndi, this artist has created his fans in various communities throughout Canada and USA. In 1986, he migrated to USA and started his career as a professional tabla and keyboard player.
Inspired by his elder brother’s style of singing, he developed primary passion to become a singer. His let his instincts lead the way and with dedication, hard work and determination become a big success. The final event was enjoyed by a crowd of 5000 and he sang to fans’ request.
Guests of Honor were from Cupertino Chamber Of Commerce, Mark Santoro, Mayor, City of Cupertino, Orrin Mahoney, Vice-Mayor, City of Cupertino, Rich Gordon, Paul Fong, Jim Beall from California State Assembly, Jose Esteves, Mayor, City of Milpitas, Ash Kalra and Sam Liccardo, Councilmember, City of San Jose, Cupertino Union School District, Fremont Union High School District, Rotary International, Cupertino-Hsinchu Sister City Association.
The board includes Mahesh Nihalani, Chamber of Commerce, Vicky Tsai, Asian American Business Council, Mike Foulker, Lym Chig, Joanne Mansch, Tamon Norimnto, Saldy James and Darcy Paul.
– Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service
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