Namaste Wellington is a confluence of ethnic Indian initiatives in the areas of culture, business, arts entertainment and cuisine that brings the community of the greater Wellington region together in an annual celebration of Indianness.
Now in its third year, the Namaste Wellington 2022 festival will be held on October 8.
The event coincides with Diwali, which this year will be celebrated as the festival of lights unaccompanied by the traditional fireworks.
Namaste Wellington aims to set the trend for the future by holding a truly green festival. As part of this effort, the Namaste Wellington light show, a novel experience on offer, will run all day in 20-minute intervals.
The one-day event will feature an array of stalls set up on the premises of the Wellington Indian Cultural Centre at Kilbirnie.
Stalls include a colour workshop for children by Resene as well as the one set up by the Rangiwahia Environmental Arts Centre for designing and creating eco-friendly Diwali paper lanterns.
There are also stalls put up by the Wellington Indian dance and language schools.
An additional highlight on the occasion will be the book-signing by Dunedin-based author Jacqui Leckie of her book, Invisible. The book tells the story of the early Indian pioneers who came to NZ and the difficulties they faced through discrimination and racism.
Cricket enthusiasts can watch the Black Caps take on India.
“All the local businesses that we have in Wellington will have their own stalls,” said Manisha Morar, event organiser.
“They get to promote themselves, they get to sell goods if they want to. Some of them will have food stalls. At the same time, in the conference room area, there is a performance stage. We have about 40 performances on that day,” Morar added. The dance performances will range from traditional folk dances to classical to Bollywood.
The festival has free entry. Nevertheless, a Lakshmi’s Urli will be placed in the foyer of the building to collect donations, which will go to the Wellington Free Ambulance. “That’s our contribution to the larger society,” Morar said.
Namaste Wellington is an offshoot of its precursor the Indian Bazaar, which ran for almost 40 years and where people bargained for lower prices as in an open market. That model gave way to the present format of the festival.
“It’s about reinventing oneself to suit the present day and age,” Morar noted.