The Indian Students’ Association (ISA) will be hosting a Diwali celebration from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday in the Great Hall at the Memorial Union.

Tickets are available here and are currently $7 for Iowa State students and $10 for the public. Tickets are also available for purchase in the ISA’s office space in the Memorial Union. 

The celebration will feature live music, dancing and authentic Indian food. 

Aditi Kulkarni, ISA treasurer, discussed a few of the events in place for Sunday.

“We have numerous dancers out there who are just showcasing their talent, dancing on classical Indian music to Western modern Bollywood tunes,” Kulkarni said.

Kulkarni also talked about the celebration after the performers.

“At the end of the musical performance, we have a dance arranged in the back of the MU,” Kulkarni said. “We have that for an hour, and people just enjoy, let themselves go free and everyone can participate in it, not just the performers.”

As for the food, Kulkarni explained some of the options that will be displayed.

“We’re catering from Des Moines. So we have authentic Indian food for all the people out there at the end of the night so they can have a nice meal and just chill out after all the celebrations.”

The meal will be held at 8:30 p.m. that night in Howe Hall.

This event is available for anyone who wants to attend and know more about India and its culture.

“We just keep it open for everyone. So it’s not heavily enforcing any religion towards anyone, it’s just open for all and people can come enjoy the performances,” Kulkarni said. “We appreciate people from everywhere.”

For anyone who is not familiar with Diwali, Kulkarni explains the significance and the reason for it.

“It’s a festival of lights that signifies the return of one of our gods after killing an evil guy […] It’s just celebrating good vibes, while being thankful and being grateful that you’re here, just like killing the evil and just having a great time.”