Guests gathering outside the Bhakti Center; Temple room filled for evening program.

Bhakti Center NYC celebrated its seventh annual Diwali Festival on November 1st, attended by over 1,000 people. The popular evening event included kirtan, food stalls, dance, drama, and children’s activities like henna and face painting.

Several well-known publications, like the Gothamist, list the Bhakti Center as the number one place to celebrate Diwali in the city. Local print and television media covered the event, most notably CBS New York, which broadcast a live report from the event. You can watch the clip here.

Some special guests this year included Dilip Chauhan, Deputy Commissioner of Cultural and Trade Affairs for NYC, and Vikas Khanna, a celebrity chef in NYC with 4.8 million Instagram followers. DC Chauhan was instrumental in establishing Diwali as a public holiday in NYC schools, which began this year. It’s estimated that 60 percent of the guests were first-timers, representing a broad range of ethnicities from across the city. NYC officials estimate over 200,000 residents celebrate the annual Festival of Lights.

The success of this year’s festival was made possible thanks to a team of sixty volunteers who worked tirelessly to host the people of New York City. Their dedication and hard work were instrumental in making the event a memorable one for all.

To stay abreast of the Bhakti Center’s ongoing service and learn of upcoming events and initiatives, please visit their website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.