The Pelham Art Center celebrated Diwali on November 16, an an annual tradition at the art center. Diwali is an Indian holiday widely known as the “Festival of Lights.”

For the first 90 minutes of the Sunday afternoon event, the performers entertained the audience with dances and live music with traditional instruments. Individuals from young children to young adults to instructors performed at the celebration. A few instructors performed solos while others even had performances with their students. Oftentimes, these dances told stories and portrayed characters, and in other cases the dances were simply traditional performances.

There were also two tutorials for the audience. The first featured three students who went to the stage and told a story, each portraying a different character and explaining the significance of the story afterwards. The performers wore festive, colorful outfits and a wide range of exotic jewelry. The other tutorial involved audience participation.

After the performances, there was a craft station where people could get a henna tattoo, which lasts longer than one with water, but is still temporary. The celebration also included other arts and crafts stations.

“I found it super fun, and really entertaining,” said Sophie Jordan, who attended the performance. “It was really cool to watch, and engaging.”

Jordan also complimented the costumes worn by performers. “The outfits were beautiful,” she said. “I noticed a lot of jewelry like gorgeous bracelets or anklets. It was really fun!”