One of South Islands biggest and New Zealand’s first environmentally sustainable Diwali celebrations was a huge success.
More than 1000 people from Aotearoa’s diverse communities came together to attend the
celebrations amid art, culture, dance, music, food, and lights.
Power-packed performances, great food and a lot of lights spread the brightness of Indian culture in
the beautiful town of Queenstown.
With the support of Queenstown Lakes District Council, Bhartiya Samaj Queenstown Charitable Trust and social enterprise The Parakeets bring Diwali - this time with a green message.
Queenstown Lakes District Council Mayor Glyn Lewers said one of the common goals that India
shares with New Zealand, besides Cricket, is embracing sustainability and “tonight we see
some of that goal.
“We wish to improve on our reach about Queenstown Diwali being a completely sustainable event. Hosting a large event with thousands of attendees demands efficient and uninterrupted power. However, we wish to find efficient power supply alternatives to further lower our carbon footprint,” said Lewers.
“We wish to continue lowering the landfill waste to absolute zero. This will require great planning as we noticed the landfill collected could be originating from our attendees disposing general wastes. We also wish to include more food vendors that can comply with our sustainability rules,” he said.
Southland MP Joseph Mooney said, “We’ve seen the incredible breadth and vibrancy of this region which we are seeing here.”
Bhartiya Samaj Queenstown Charitable Trust’s president Mangal Behal said the event went a long
way in spreading awareness about environmental sustainability.
“We, along with The Parakeets, wanted to bring the concept of sustainability to Queenstown Diwali to spread awareness about environmental protection and responsible tourism. I am proud to say that we were successful in raising the awareness and engaging people in discussing and
understanding sustainability.”
Bhartiya Samaj Queenstown Charitable Trust’s Vice President Poonam Sethi said Diwali celebrations
bring our communities together and gives us an opportunity to educate the younger generation
about their culture and take them closer to their roots and identities.
“It was a great night filled with power-packed performances, amazing food and a lot of
encouragement from the community, QLDC and all dignitaries,” said Sethi.
Bhartiya Samaj Queenstown Charitable Trust’s Chairperson Jeet Suchdev, who came all the way
from Auckland, said he was impressed with the way diverse communities came together on Diwali in Queenstown.
“I am absolutely thrilled to see the Festival of Lights Diwali becoming so special in New Zealand. The festival has become a joyful experience for not just South Asian communities, but many
communities who come from across New Zealand to enjoy these celebrations in Queenstown,” said Suchdev.
Our proud supporters and sponsors were Queenstown Lakes District Council, Welcoming
communities, Community Trust South, Pub Charity Limited, Central Lakes Trust, Air Rescue, NZ
Mortgages, Generations Homes Canterbury, Super Liquor, Radio Sadeaala, India Live, TomTom and Novelty Sweets.
The event was conceptualised by The Parakeets.
