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Lights will fill the Ponderosa Room of the Nebraskan Student Union when the University of Nebraska at Kearney hosts the Festival of Lights on Sunday, Nov. 18, at 4 p.m.
After an opening ceremony, there will be music and dances from Nepal and India, and a magic show hosted by UNK communications professor Dr Akbar Javidi. The event will conclude with a 6 p.m. buffet.
The Festival of Lights event is a celebration of Diwali, which means “row of lights.” Diwali, one of the most popular South Asian festivals, celebrates the renewal of hope, promises and the simple pleasures of life. Jains, Sikhs and Hindus all celebrate Diwali.
Dr. Tami Moore, director of the UNK Ethnic Studies Program, said, “Cultural understanding begins with the identification of similarities. The Festival of Lights includes a celebration of harvest and hope. The U.S. Thanksgiving holiday addresses those same concepts. The UNK campus is enhanced by the diversity of students and of community members in and around the Kearney area. This event is just one of the ways that connection is celebrated.”
The event is free and open to the public.
