It was indeed a magical night at Diwali Lights at NEBG at Tower Hill, Boylston, MA on November 23, 2024, when they kicked off its season of Night Lights with Diwali Lights.
This is the third year in 2024 that the New England Botanic Garden (NEBG) and the India Society of Worcester (ISW) have partnered to hold a Diwali celebration at the garden. “This year, because it was part of the Night Lights, our Indian Culture reached such a wider audience. I’m so happy about that,” said Shiamin Melville, Event Chair for Diwali Lights at NEBG. It leads to such perfect synergy — celebrating their iconic annual Night Lights with Diwali which is also a festival of lights.
NEBG's Night Lights is a six-week program, where the breathtaking winter light display of a quarter million lights is unmatched in the region. Visitors were amazed as they journeyed through a mesmerizing array of radiant, glowing lights in every imaginable color. Besides s’mores, seasonal drinks, and a model train, a Glice artificial ice-skating rink was also installed for the first time for Night Lights.
Attendees to Diwali Lights this year were welcomed with traditional flowers Rangoli, by Priya Vaidya. The event featured Indian food, in partnership with Gourmet India; shopping with vendors selling Indian jewelry, clothes, neem candles, turmeric soap and ethnic water bottles; henna with Megna; and a scavenger hunt to find South Asian plants in the Orangery. Carolyn and Sahdev Passey added to the festivities with their beautiful ethnic touches in the cafe and event spaces, and their Indian Culture table proved to be big draw. Additionally, we had chess enthusiasts enjoying sessions, surrounded by myriads of lights. This year’s dancers were from Natyamani School of Drama, AmudhaSri Dance School Dance School, BollyBeatz, Garishma, and Mona's Dance Academy. The musical program included young flute and tabla performers Sachika and Adithya, Sak, and Carnatic vocals by Gaanavaariddhi School of Music. To end it all, more than 20 of ISW’s own Symphony Dhol Tasha Lezim team braved the cold and performed in the garden surrounded by rainbow LED lights. With the help of more than 20 ISW Volunteers and our Indian Youth Group, this event helped create magical memories.
“I just love seeing the families enjoy the garden,” said Grace Elton, CEO as they connected with nature. “Some fan favorites are returning this year, including the rainbow tunnel located in the vegetable garden.” Staff and volunteers work each year to create a theme for the event and this year the theme’s focus is rainbows. The Garden of Inspiration, now ADA accessible, focuses on how rainbows occur, and visitors saw waterfalls and ice with pops of rainbow shining through.
NEBG first connected with ISW in 2019 when it was working on its strategic plan. CEO Grace Elton said the garden was reaching out to as many community members as possible to get information on what the garden should be doing in the future. The then-President of ISW, Ashish Cowlagi, participated in a focus group, and, as a result, we continue to hold a seat on the garden’s Community Advisory Committee. Besides that, ISW members Priya Vaidya and Shiamin Melville have joined NEBG committees and the Board of Trustees. We look forward to 2025 Diwali Lights next year.
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Photos by Mala Lam from Event
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