Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Diwali in Whangārei with a difference this year at Forum North

Imran Ali
By Imran Ali
Multimedia Journalist·Northern Advocate·
11 Nov, 2020 04:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A sit-down lunch and a powerpacked entertainment will form part of the Diwali celebration at Forum North. Photo / John Stone

A sit-down lunch and a powerpacked entertainment will form part of the Diwali celebration at Forum North. Photo / John Stone

Uncertainty around Covid has forced organisers of this year's Diwali celebration in Whangārei to change tack a bit but the food and entertainment galore won't be missing.

The Festival of Lights is scheduled for November 21 at Forum North and a full vegetarian buffet is on offer together with dance and music from Auckland-based Monisha Kumar Dance Company.

Northland Indian Association board chairman Ralph Correa said instead of the usual theatre-style seating, this year there would be tables of eight and tickets were only available through eventfinda.co.nz.

"We were not sure what the Covid levels will be and that's why we've decided a bit of distance between the tables would be nice. Also, we have seating arrangement for 300 people rather than 500 we normally have."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Correa said because of the limited number of tickets, those who decided to buy them at the door may be disappointed.

He's urging people to secure their tickets at $20 per person quickly to avoid disappointment.

Around 60 tickets were sold as at mid-afternoon on Tuesday.

"We can track and trace people with ticket sales through eventfinda. The $20 doesn't cover our cost. We're doing it as a charity," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Entertainment would consist of a fusion of western, Bollywood, and Hollywood dances plus there would be plenty of fun competitions and spot prizes, he said.

"We've designed the programme with everyone in Diwali mood. Now the weather is warming up and this is the time to brighten our lives after a difficult year with Covid hovering around."

Doors open at 11.30am and the alcohol-free event will run noon to 3pm.

Diwali, otherwise known as Deepavali or the Festival of Lights, is one of the most important events in the Indian community calendar and is an ancient festival celebrated in autumn in the northern hemisphere or spring in the southern hemisphere.

Discover more

More benches planned for the district

01 Dec 10:00 PM

Best of Indian entertainment and food in store

08 Oct 12:00 AM

Diwali celebration lights up in Whangārei

06 Nov 11:00 PM

The festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness or good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair.

Celebrations include millions of lights shining around temples and other buildings in the communities and countries where it is observed.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

Speeding driver led police on high-risk pursuit, caused crash then drove off

19 Jun 08:00 AM
Northern Advocate

Our top Premium stories this year: Special offer for Herald, Viva, Listener

19 Jun 01:59 AM
Northern Advocate

'Sobering' downturn: Bay of Islands cruise bookings nearly halve

19 Jun 12:16 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Speeding driver led police on high-risk pursuit, caused crash then drove off

Speeding driver led police on high-risk pursuit, caused crash then drove off

19 Jun 08:00 AM

Two weeks earlier Lovepreet Gill had been recorded driving at 140km/h in an 80km/h zone.

Our top Premium stories this year: Special offer for Herald, Viva, Listener

Our top Premium stories this year: Special offer for Herald, Viva, Listener

19 Jun 01:59 AM
'Sobering' downturn: Bay of Islands cruise bookings nearly halve

'Sobering' downturn: Bay of Islands cruise bookings nearly halve

19 Jun 12:16 AM
Environment Court approves 115-lot rural subdivision near Kerikeri

Environment Court approves 115-lot rural subdivision near Kerikeri

18 Jun 05:00 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP