Crow Collection After Dark: Diwali Celebration

Diwali is a festival of lights celebrated throughout India and among Indians world-wide. Hindus, Jains and Sikhs commemorate different auspicious events, but each is a moment of victory of good over evil, and light disbursing darkness. Celebrate Diwali with art-making activities, storytelling, performances and more.

Art Activity: Diya Candles - 6 - 10 PM | Arbor Walk. Sculpt and decorate your own Diwali diya, or small lamp, and celebrate the victory of good over evil and brightness over darkness. Supplies limited.

Art Activity: Rangoli - 6 - 9 PM | Flora Street. A type of decoration drawn on the ground in front of a house, a rangoli welcomes visitors to a household. Help create a community rangoli made of sand.

Art Activity: Threshold Art - 6 - 9 PM | Flora Street. These examples of threshold designs are created by drawing around a series of dots. They demonstrate a progression of basic patterns using a limited number of dots to more complex ones using increasingly varied numbers of dots. To practice drawing these kolams, use the worksheet provided.

Storytelling: The Story of Diwali - 6:30 PM | Jade Room. Join Crow Collection staff for a reading of Jatinder Verma’s The Story of Divaali with beautiful illustrations from Nilesh Mistry.

Henna Hand Painting - 7 - 10 PM | Jade Room. Mehndi is the application of henna as a temporary form of skin decoration and is typically applied during special occasions like Diwali. Join in the celebration and get your own henna design from mehndi artists.

Complimentary Indian Beer - 8 – 11:30PM | Silk Road Reading Room. Celebrate the festival of lights and sip on Indian beer. Supplies limited. Must show proof of age to be served.

Performance in the Galleries: Indique Dance Company - 8 PM | Grand Gallery. In modern films, traditional Indian dance elements often blend with Western dance styles. Celebrate the dances of Bollywood films with a special performance by members of Indique Dance Company.

Performance in the Galleries: Sitar with Vatsal Dave - 9 PM | Grand Gallery. A proponent and student of the gayaki style of sitar playing, Vatsal Dave is a disciple of Budhaditya Mukherjee; who is renowned for his virtuosity and technical brilliance. Vatsal continues to study with his Guru; sometimes traveling to Amsterdam, sometimes to India. Vatsal has been performing in various festivals all over United States and has been imparting teachings to many aspirants and students for over 15 years.

Karaoke After Dark - 10:30 – 11:45PM. Join DJ Mark Ridlen for a multi-lingual and multi-media karaoke experience.