Northern College international students got a little taste of home and shared their talents with the community.
The gym at Northern College was filled with music and fun for Diwali — the festival of lights — as singers and dancers entertained the crowd that spread up into the mezzanine of the gym, and required several trips to storage for more chairs as people arrived. The event was held on Sunday (Oct. 23).
Diwali is celebrated in Hinduism, Sikhism, Newar Buddhism and Jainism, and is one of the most important holidays of the year.
The festival gets its name from the rows of clay lamps lit outside homes to symbolize inner light that protects from spiritual darkness.
“We are all family here,” said Kanwaljit Kaur (Daisy) Bains, who hosted the event with Bahadur Singh Bains.
Attendees included members of the Sikh Sangat of Timmins, international students and members of the wider Timmins community.
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While much of the evening was conducted in Punjabi, Bains welcomed those who might not speak the language and urged everyone to welcome the guests from their "Timmins family".
“Everyone is welcome here, and we want everyone to enjoy themselves,” said Bains.
Those that attended were also able to enter their names into a raffle for a $150 gift basket.
Bains also made it clear that as the performances wound down, everyone should join in and dance.
“I want to see everyone dancing," she said.
The festival is celebrated in other places in Ontario and around the world.
While promoting the event, Bains explained how in the GTA, people put oil lamps outside their houses, light up the house with lights, greet relatives with sweets and have a feast.
At the Timmins celebration, there were vegetarian snacks available that were prepared by the international students, who also showcased their traditional dances. The evening ended with fireworks.
This is the first time the Bains' hosted Diwali in Timmins and they hope to continue holding the celebration annually and keeping it free for everyone to attend.
The Bains have been key drivers in introducing the community to their culture.
After buying the former Gibby's Tavern for a kitchen showroom, they ended up donating the property to the Sikh Sangat of Timmins, a non-profit organization, and turned the building into a temple. It officially opened in January.
In June, the first-ever Khalsa Day celebration in Timmins attracted hundreds of people to take in the parade, traditional ceremonies, free vegetarian food and Sikh martial arts.
