Diwali Dance Festival

Last Friday (Nov. 13), we were invited to attend a Diwali Dance Festival at the Indian Culture and Education Center (SW 13th Street), put on by the Hindu Cultural Society, and we're so glad! We didn't know much about the history of the festival, also called the "festival of lights" (you can learn more here) other than what we learned from Kelly on The Office, but it turned out to be a fun celebration with bright clothes, great food and—perhaps the best part—beautiful music, dancing and song.

With only a $3 entrance fee and tons of Indian food to sample, this was the ticket to have. (Proceeds benefitted Indian education, flood victims and the ICEC, according to the web site.) After sampling one of each of the dishes (the samosas were our favorite—sort of reminded us of an empanada, in a stuffed-triangular-pastry way), we enjoyed a dance performance and were thrilled when the floor was opened up to the crowd. With the sounds of Raas, Bhangra and Bollywood, we did our best to keep up.

Then, of course, we made our way to the cupcake-decorating table and bought a bunch of sparklers and firecracker things, being, as this was, the festival of light. After being entertained by an incredible beat-box performance, we followed the excited children outside to light our sparklers.

Look for us next year!

Photos by Sean Kelly