Thurrock Asian Association led the community celebrations of the famous Indian festival of DIWALI at the Thameside Theatre, Grays on Saturday 31st of October, 2009 which was attended by more than 300 adults and young people from all communities living in Thurrock and surrounding districts.
The Mayor of Thurrock Cllr Maureen Pearce was the chief guest who wished HAPPY DIWALI to all the people and praised the work of the Thurrock Asian Association for bringing about Community Cohesion amongst various Thurrock Communities by organising this wonderful multi-coloured and multicultural event.
Also joined in the celebrations were a number of Councillors including Cllr Joyce Redsell, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Culture, Libraries and Sport and Cllr John Kent, Leader of the Labour Group in the Council.
The evening was full of Asian and Western, classical, modern and folk music and dancing. The highlights of the evening were Diwali Songs sung by the Asian Adult Music Group; Bollywood dancing performances by the Zareen Dancers, Saheli Dance Group and Storm Entertainment. The audience also appreciated dances by Youth Inspiration Call, Dhol Performance, Belly Dancers and Naplese Group. A loud cheers came from the audience to the beautiful classical performance of Bharatanatyam Dancers.
Yash Gupta, President of the Association in his welcoming address outlined the achievements of Thurrock Asian Association and added,’ I was delighted that this evenings celebrations fulfilled broad objectives of the Association; to bring about community cohesion and community well-being amongst all residents by organising such cultural events.’
Meena Mitra, Cultural Secretary of the Association thanked everyone for their contributions to make this evening a memorable event.
Mr. K. Mitra, Secretary of the Association said, ‘Our Committee Members worked hard to make this evening an enjoyable one for every one to have a nice, happy time.’
