The Diwali Festival will light up downtown San Antonio

Diwali is a city-wide festival celebrating India’s Diwali celebration right here in San Antonio.

This year’s DiwaliSA will take place on Saturday 2nd November at the Arneson River Theater and surrounding area Hemisfair.

Kausi Subramaniam explained the theme of the festival: “We celebrate the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. Such a positive message that anyone can enjoy.”

The event will start at 4.30pm on Saturday and, like many of the city’s festivities, will begin by the river.

“We have the Indian States River Parade coming up at about 5:45 in the evening. And we will have classical dances, folk dances, fusion,” she explained.

There are 28 different states in India, each with its own customs, food and dances.

“Just as the local cuisine in each state is very unique to the respective state, so are the dance forms, clothing,” she said. “Technically, each state can be a separate country because they all have their own languages. So it’s very unlike the United States,” Subramaniam said.

The Hemisfair area will be the footprint for most of the festival, including the new ones Public park which opened last year.

Subramaniam added that you should come hungry. “We have 12 vendors who will be selling food from different parts of India. That’s why people always like to visit different restaurants,” she said.

A DJ will be playing Bollywood dance music for festival goers to dance to international sounds.

“We will also have what is called Rangoliwhich is floor art created by members of the Indian community. And this is actually a competition,” she said.

She said people should bring their children. “We also have a children’s area, and the San Antonio Zoo will bring some animals there for the kids to see,” Subramaniam said.

“We will also have many suppliers of goods. We will have floating candles called actionsshe said. “This year will be extra special because we’re doing it in the grotto of the convention center, which is a great place to blow out the candles. And we’ve got fireworks.”

These fireworks conclude the free Hemisphere Festival at approximately 10:00 p.m