Diwali - Festival of Lights

Diwali Dhamaka (Festival of Lights) on November 17th, 2012 in Folsom Rodeo Grounds, 1:30 PM to 7 PM

California Telugu Samithi (CTS) is organizing an event to celebrate Diwali (Festival of Lights) in Folsom Rodeo Grounds and Folsom Lions Park (Behind Folsom Library) on November 17th, 2012. Program will commence at 1:30 PM.

Diwali, which translates to “Row of Lights”, is one of the most important festivals celebrated by traditional Hindus. This festival falls between Mid October and Mid November every year based on the lunar calendar, is an official holiday in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Guyana, Fiji, Myanmar, Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname, Malaysia, and Singapore.  Though it is of a religious and spiritual significance to the Hindus across the world, it also has been celebrated by others alike as it marks the end of the harvest season in India. Farmers give thanks to the yield of the year gone by and pray for a better year to come. It is also celebrated by Sikhs in and outside of India.

This event on the 17^th is open to all and the proceeds will be donated to Twin Lakes Food Bank in Folsom.  Admission is free. Event includes lot of fun activities for adults and kids alike. Bounce houses, games, food stalls, vendors, raffle gifts, Henna, Face Painting, and various other activities. The event ends with the bursting of fire crackers brought by the families.

About CTS: California Telugu Samithi (referred as CTS) is a registered non-profit organization. Visit http://www.californiatelugu.org/about_cts.php for more information. The purpose of this organization is to provide a stage for Telugu speaking people, who predominantly hail from India, to preserve and promote the cultural heritage they grew up with. Telugu language is at least 2400 years old and the 80 million people living in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India have developed a rich culture based on it. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telugu_language for more details. CTS volunteers conduct couple of events every year, in which they showcase Telugu and Indian culture. These events are generally 4-5 hour long shows filled with Telugu language based cultural programs such as dances, music, and skits. Generally, there is also authentic Indian food available. Three major events organized by CTS are ugadi (Telugu New Year) in April, vasantOtsavam (spring festival) in May and Diwali Festival of lights in October.