The Diwali Festival at the Alameda Fairgrounds this Oct. 19th was a festival with cultural goods, food, and performances. It was set up by the Association of Indo Americans (AIA) to celebrate the Hindu festival of lights. This dance called Yakshagana, shows the stories of Indian myths.

Rows of stalls are set up, containing beautiful ethnic clothing and jewelry, as well as delicious food.

Many stalls had tons of jewelry in beautiful setups, all original in their own way.

As the festival continues, people look through the vendor stalls for new clothing like saris, lehengas and kurtis.

The mini replica of the new Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, was the center of a setup surrounded by candles representing the dias used in traditional festivals.

Different cultural performances continued through the evening, such as Ram Leela. Taking you through vivid scenes of Ram’s life, an important character in Indian mythology, the girls had a skilled and emotional dance.

The burning Ravan Dahan was the highlight of the evening. A cultural tradition that represents the physical end of evil, they lit up the effigy with fireworks, an explosive event as the whole thing went up in flames.

The fireworks lit up the sky right after with dazzling colors of blue, red, green, and gold. The colorful display ended the night with a bang, literally.