Auckland’s largest celebration of contemporary and traditional Indian culture hits Auckland this weekend, October 14-15.
Grab your favourite chaat, find a good spot in front of the main stage and make the most of the sights, sounds, flavours and fun of the 16th Auckland Diwali Festival, on Saturday, 14 and Sunday, 15 October.
Auckland’s largest celebration of contemporary and traditional Indian culture will light up Aotea Square and Queen St (between Mayoral Drive and Wellesley St) from midday to 9pm each day, with the best of Indian music, dance, theatre, art, craft and street food.
The festival wraps up with a fireworks display at 9pm on Sunday.
Hundreds of local performers, musicians and artists will perform across the two days. The festival will also be a delight for foodies, with delicious street food including dahi puri, pani puri and aloo tikki, as well as sweet treats you’ll want seconds in.
There are plenty of activities and fun for the whole family – painting at the Resene marquee, games and entertainment in the kids zone and rides. There are also Indian-inspired rangoli workshops which include creating traditional patterns from coloured sand.
Be aware of parking restrictions and crowds over the weekend, with thousands attending each year. Accessible parking and drop-off areas are marked on the festival map at aucklandnz.com/diwali. For train services and information on temporary bus stop closures, go to at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/events/auckland-diwali-festival/.
