10.13.2021
Links below will open new windows.
Seattle Center Festál: Diwali: Lights of India, features the compelling and beautiful art, music, dance, cooking, traditions and heritage of India, 12 noon, Saturday, Oct. 23. Festival organizers have put together a program exclusively created and produced for this virtual Diwali celebration with performances by local performers and artists from India. To access the live stream, go to YouTube or Facebook.
Highlights of the 9th annual festival include a local Youth Classical (Indian) Violin Ensemble, Temple of Music, and an interview with the world-renowned violin maestro Ganesh Rajagopalan about his new music projects. It also features an interview with the director of Seattle Center Robert Nellams and Latha Sambamurti, producer and director of Diwali: Lights of India.
The live stream includes a dance fusion piece, When Traditions Meet, performed by eight artists from four classical Indian dance forms, classical performances by local Indian dance schools and culture talks with classical dance artists about the history, tradition, heritage, dance costumes and jewelry of three classical dance forms. The festival also presents a variety of folk dances: by the local dance schools Chennai Beats Dance Academy and La-Bonyo; Rajasthani folk dances by artists from Los Angeles and New York; and Kalbeliya dance by a hereditary Kalbeliya artist from Rajasthan, India.
A visual arts gallery showcases the award-winning visual artist Jayashree Krishnan, who has created portraits of hundreds of frontline healthcare workers. A cooking demonstration by Meghna Avnish Patel from Itiffin4U shows how to make Diwali sweets. Virtual Diwali fireworks complete the streaming festival.
Let this festival of lights bring happiness, health, prosperity and peace to everyone. View festival program details click here.
Seattle Center Festál highlights the culturally rich communities who help shape the character and course of our region. The series, presented virtually in 2021, provides a forum for cultural groups to come together and share their stories with the greater community. The series began in 1997 to offer a central place for festivals to invite the public to join in their unique cultural expression.
Seattle Center presents Seattle Center Festál: Diwali Lights of India in partnership with Northwest Share, a nonprofit organization that promotes arts, culture, education, health and humanitarian services, and its volunteers. Streaming is free of charge. For more information, visit www.seattlecenter.com/festal or call 206-684-7200.
About Seattle Center Festál:
Seattle Center Festál, Where the World Gathers, presents 24 ethnic cultural festivals on weekends throughout the year, virtually in 2021, to connect people in ways that build understanding, dispel stereotypes and generate pride among the generations who participate in these shared experiences. Seattle Center Festál is produced with the generous support of KUOW 94.9 Public Radio, T-Mobile, 4Culture, the City of Seattle and Seattle Center Foundation.
