DIWALI will be celebrated on Wednesday November 11, 2015 and as is customary, the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha has organised eight spectacular Deepavali (Diwali) motorcades across the country. This will be the 42nd year for the motorcades. Thousands of Guyanese are expected to line the streets and converge at the various venues to enjoy the dazzling spectacle which ushers in the Festival of Lights. There will be gorgeously bedecked representations of Mother Lakshmi and other depictions from the Scriptures, a kaleidoscope of lights, devotional music, spectacular cultural programmes and much more.
The Sabha, in a statement yesterday, said the first motorcade will be held on Friday November 6th at the Anna Regina Market Tarmac, Essequibo. On Saturday November 7, motorcades will be held at the Oceanview Mandir Compound, West Coast Demerara and the Diamond Market Tarmac, East Bank Demerara.
On Sunday November 8, four motorcades will be held in Berbice. In West Coast Berbice, the motorcade will converge at the Bath Community Centre Ground. In East Berbice, the floats will assemble at Main and Vryheid Street opposite Church View Gift Shop and proceed to the Rosehall Community Centre Ground, Canje. In Upper Corentyne, floats will make their way from Crabwood Creek and No. 36 Village to the Tagore High School ground. The Central Corentyne Praant’s Motorcade will move from Bushlot, Corentyne and No. 1 Village and converge at Port Mourant Community Centre Ground.
All of the motorcades will culminate with grand cultural programmes and presentation of prizes beginning at 7pm.
The spectacular Georgetown/East Coast Demerara motorcade will be held on Tuesday November 10. Often described as the single largest event on the Guyanese calendar, the Sabha said this year’s motorcade promises to be as exciting as ever.
The fabulously decorated floats will assemble at the Shri Krishna Mandir, Campbellville from 6pm and will move west along Campbell Avenue into Sandy Babb Street, north into J.B. Singh Road and east into Seawall Road to the LBI Community Centre Ground. Guyanese are encouraged to line the route of the motorcade to enjoy the fantastic display of Guyanese creativity. Mandirs, Youth Groups and families have begun working on their floats and from all indications, floats will be simply magnificent this year. More than 20 floats have already registered their participation.
At the LBI Community Centre Ground, the stage programme starts at 7pm. There will be performances by the ZEETV Saregamapa finalists Bishakh Jyoti and Shreyasi Bhattacharjee, Dharmic Nritya Sangh, Sookrane Boodhoo, Rekha Singh, Artie Sookhai, Mona Gowkarran and others. In excess of $3M in cash and trophies will be presented to the winning floats. Prizes will also be given for the most outstanding mandirs in each category and for the best overall designed float.
Admission to all motorcades is free and no alcohol is allowed. The Sabha said there will be a number of food stalls offering a wide variety of vegetarian cuisine, mehendi stalls and lots of Diwali shopping opportunities at all venues. The Sabha wishes to express its special appreciation to its major sponsor Digicel for its support to all of the motorcades and to all the other sponsors who have generously contributed to the various motorcades.
In addition to the motorcades, the Sabha is hosting a Pre-Diwali Dinner and Concert at the Marriott Hotel ballroom on Monday November 9, at 7pm. In addition to a sumptuous authentic Indian vegetarian feast, patrons will be treated to magnificent performances from Indian artistes and ZEETV Saregamapa finalists Bishakh Jyoti and Shreyasi Bhattacharjee. Both Bishakh and Shreyasi are fantastic singers who have visited Guyana before and gained much love following their success in the Saregamapa Singing Superstars Show and Lil Champs. Their song repertoire promises to be a real treat with melodies ranging from yesteryear’s classic hits to the chartbusters of present day. This event will also mark the launch of the Sabha’s fundraising drive for the building of its new Dharmic Rama Krishna Primary and Secondary schools. Tickets for this event can be booked by calling 227-6181.
Dharmic Sabha has also organised rangoli competitions in several schools around the country to encourage student participation in the festival. On Sunday November 15, the Mahila Mandalee women’s section of the Sabha will host a children’s Diwali party at the Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud Dharmic Sanskritik Kendra in Georgetown.