Major Diwali festival and parade comes to Aylesbury this weekend

This Sunday (30 October), a major Diwali festival and parade will takeover Aylesbury town centre.

Starting at Discover Bucks Museum at 2pm and finishing with a parade which will travel through Market Square starting at 4:30pm.

Look out for the lantern parade where the lanterns provided by the William Harding Trust.

Road closures are in place in central Aylesbury to allow the procession to move freely towards Aylesbury’s hub.

Organisers advise the lanterns provided are sustainable willow which were created earlier this month.

Another stunning visual will be a large life-size perambulating elephant.

Dhol drummers, bollywood dancers and community performers have also been brought in to provide a memorable atmosphere.

Since 2017, ‘Festival of Lights’ shows have been held in Aylesbury to recognise Hindu celebration.

But, due to Covid-related restrictions the 2020 event was held digitally, and a more lowkey affair was held last year.

The virtual celebration in 2020 attracted over 9,500 viewers, while hundreds still enjoyed last year’s less publicised meet-up.

Inside the Aylesbury museum will be dancing displays, cultural music, and craft activities.

Bucks Heroes has helped to organise the festivities, while Aylesbury Town Council, , The Anson Charitable Trust, Photohello and Holy Cow Home helped fund the event.

Lantern-making workshops at the museum have virtually sold out, but people are encouraged to join in and witness Sunday’s parade of light.

Trustee and founder of Holy Cow Community Events, Poonam Gupta told The Bucks Herald: “We are so excited, especially because the weather is going to be good, we’ve had a lot of uptake and a lot of support.

"We are very excited for the lantern parade, especially the life-size elephant.

"Last year we did a socially distanced event and it was really, really well attended.

“So, from that we feel that people are keen and very excited. Given that Diwali was on Monday (24 October), there is still a feeling of celebration.”

Diwali is a yearly celebration marking the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance".

More information can be found on the Holy Cow Community Events website here.