About the Event
Our Festival of Lights celebration offers a full programme of activities at Discover Bucks Museum in Aylesbury on Sunday 30th October. The event will run from 2pm to 5pm. The end of the celebration will be marked with a Light procession including the participants from the willow lantern workshop that will be held on Saturday 1st October 2022
Aylesbury Festival of Lights Celebrations, held in Kingsbury, Aylesbury 2019
Inspired by Diwali, this festival celebrates the delights of our multi-cultural community and everyone is welcome. We want to delight your senses with a joyous celebration. What better excuse to dust off your dancing shoes, open your mind and meet your Aylesbury neighbours?
Diwali Festival of Lights Events Programme
We are delighted to confirm a fantastic mix of performances, activities and stallholders including:
DANCE
Bollywood Dance with Jay Kumar – Be enthralled by the rhythm, flow and theatre from this professional Bollywood Choreographer!
Cultural Dance with K’z Dance – A myriad of colours in the beautiful embroidered costumes of Kalpesh’s troop who draw all in to do the Gharba dance of originating from the state of Gujarat
MUSIC
Dhol Movement – Part of every Indian parade and community celebration features the Dhol, a double-headed drum. Are you ready to feel the beat?
ART OF LIVING – YOGA DANCE
Allow every movement to become a meditative dance
The source of all creativity starts from our mind.
Regular Yoga & Meditation practices bring awareness, depth, and inner strength to our life and improve holistic wellbeing. Peace, happiness, focus, alertness, emotional stability and relaxation leads to creativity. Our hidden talents start blossom.
LANTERN MAKING
Festive Road –a specialist outdoor arts organisation
Will be joining us to deliver a very special willow lantern making session, whereby our guests can make a lantern and then be part of the parade as dusk falls at 4.30pm and the lanterns will come to life. Spaces will be limited for this workshop so arrive early to get the full experience.
HENNA ART
A very popular activity, intricate designs applied to hands using a henna paste. The colour deepens over a couple of days, and subsequently fades over the following few days.
LIGHT PARADE- 4.30pm Don’t miss the Willow Lanterns made by community & Parambulating Elephant “Harminder”
Drum roll!!! 4.30pm we will start assembling for the lantern parade, at Discover Bucks Museum, Church Street, then proceed down Temple Street, Market Street and finally finish by the clock tower in Market Square
STREET FOOD
Expect to find delicious street food and warming spiced Chai, no festival is complete without food. Come with space in your tummies, eating with your eyes will not be enough
Some activities have limited spaces and must be booked in advance. To secure your place, please visit our booking page.
We are still finalising the event programme, so follow Holy Cow Community on Facebook for the latest updates!
Are you a member of a community group in Aylesbury or the surrounding villages? We still have a few slots to fill, so get in touch via our contact page for your chance to perform.
Volunteers can signup here
Festival Trustees
Poonam – Founder and Trustee
Poonam had the idea to organise a community festival to mark Diwali and is the founder of Aylesbury’s Festival of Lights. Her positivity and enthusiasm are at the heart of making this annual event a fantastic success.
Poonam is a business owner, managing Holy Cow Home an ethical boutique in Aylesbury and recently launching Holy Cow Tea and winner of 2022 Great Taste award from the Fine Food Guild for her blend of Chic Lady Grey Tea. She sits on several community committees and is also a wife and mother.
As a Hindu, Poonam has relished the annual Diwali celebrations and she would love people of all cultures and faiths to unite and share a joyous experience.
Vicky – Chair
Vicky joined the Board in 2020, bringing her wealth of experience in event organisation.
She has held several roles in the investment banking sector from Foreign Exchange Prime Brokerage Client Services, to her current role as a Fixed Income Relationship Manager. Alongside this role, she chairs and hosts an internal network promoting personal and professional growth, wellbeing and networking.
Vicky graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in Sports and Exercise Science and has recently completed the Ivy House leadership course. She lives with her fiancé and dog, Luna.
Julia – Trustee
Inspired by the 2012 Paralympics, Julia was keen to play an active role in supporting several community groups including Para Dance UK and Aylesbury’s Festival of lights.
With a love for dance, particularly ballet and contemporary jazz, she was drawn to be involved in a festival where music and performance were central themes. Julia was keen to discover more about Indian culture, colour and dance and is an enthusiastic member of our Trustee team.
Dr Prashanthini Jeyarajan – aka Prasshy Trustee
After hearing about the fantastic work the Holy Cow community does in the local community, Prasshy joined as a volunteer in 2020, and has been involved with the Festival of Lights since.
Prasshy is passionate about South Asian music, dance, and was keen on engaging with the local community and sharing her passion.
Prasshy graduated with a DPhil from the University of Oxford and currently works as a Senior Executive for the faculty of medicine, at Imperial College London.
Opening times
10am – 5pm Monday to Saturday