Our fourth annual Diwali celebrations were held at the Domain and it was a spectacular event. After months of planning and a lot of work, we were able to pull off an event in the midst of Austin at one of the most popular gathering spots in town – The Domain.
The day could not have been more beautiful and helped bring the crowds in. It was a fun-filled action-packed all-day event with performances in the form of dancing, singing, musicians, standup comedy, fashion shows that delighted and entertained the audience in the amphitheater-like setting with an elaborate stage in front of ipic at the Amy Donovan plaza.
Amy Donovan plaza in front of iPic at the Domain, Austin
As is custom the South Asian Austin Moms had stalls thronging either side of the stage along the walkways for non-profits, sponsors, activity tables and vendors. The non-profits such as Sankara Eye Foundation, AFSSA, SAIVA, and many others educated their visitors about their mission and spread their message with a purpose to be charitable and get involved in the community.
SAIVA at Diwali at Domain
Vendors ranged from clothing apparel, jewelry, delectable food, LED lights, festive decor, and traditional Indian wares. Sponsors got an opportunity to connect with Austinites and the activity centers were geared toward kids and adults alike who could learn about Diwali through craft, word searches, coloring, and quizzes.
Navrus School of Performing Arts
Domain was filled with South Asians dressed up in colorful traditional attire. We also saw a surge of unsuspecting domain visitors who were surprised and delighted to take part in the festive celebrations.
Mayor Adler, SAAM President Pooja Sethi, Council member Jimmy Flannigan, CEO of Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, SAAM board members Tejal, Veena and SAAM VP Parul Mehta
One of the highlights of the day were our special guests made by Mayor Adler, council member Jimmy Flannigan, CEO of Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce Marina Bhargava who the SAAM team wanted to felicitate for all the wonderful work they do for the community. They spoke on stage and emphasized the need for civic engagement and to go vote if they hadn’t voted yet.
Performances at the Diwali at the Domain
Our event Diwali at The Domain was a massive success. Our dynamic all women board have been planning this for months! Pooja Sethi, Parul Mehta, Veena Gangidi, Pallavi Malviya, Tejal Shah Sahasrabudhe, Meenu Narula, Divya Kapur Bharal, Ami Parikh Gandhi, Archana Vemulapalli, Aashi Morales We made it happen!!!
Quite a few Thank Yous are in order:
The Simon mall staff at The Domain;
Thank you to all our Sponsors, Vendors and Non Profit organizations who came;
DJ Vamzee Ganna not only for this but for all of our events;
Dhoom Decorations for wonderful stage décor and truly bringing our vision to life;
Stand up comedians Tanveer S Arora and Chris Collings who came from San Antonio;
All of the performers, dancers, and singers;
All of the fashion show participants choreographed by Pragya Sen;
Navrus School of Performing Arts for the dance workshop;
Clothing for the fashion show provided by Meri Jaan Boutique and Suram Fashion;
Photos and video coverage by JayJayasuriya, AxelB Photography , Christina Hossler Photography, Girish Shukla, Sri Photography, and Ashok Kumar;
Seema Govil and JayJayasuriya from TV Asia have always been their to support out events; Poonam Tripathy, Vishal Mahajan and their whole family who have been our supporters since we were formed 5 yrs ago.;
Prasanna Adapalli , Koushik Kundu and Balaji Krishnan for your support and help.
