Thurrock Asian Association led the Community Celebrations of the famous Indian festival of DIWALI at the Thameside Theatre, Grays on Saturday 20th November, 2010 which was attended by more than 300 adults and young people from all communities living in Thurrock and surrounding areas.
The Mayor of Thurrock Cllr Anne Cheale was the chief guest who wished HAPPY DIWALI to every one and praised the work of the Thurrock Asian Association for organising this community event which will strengthen community cohesion amongst various communities living in Thurrock. Also joined in the celebrations was Member of Parliament, Jackie Doyle Price who also praised the work of the Asian Association in promoting community integration and community well-being by organising these multi coloured and multicultural events. A number of local councillors including the Leader of the Council praised this community event and enjoyed the celebrations.
The evening was full of asian, western, classical, modern and folk music and dancing. The highlights of the evening were DIWALI songs sung by the Asian Adult Music Group; Instrumental performance; Bhangra performance by the Saheli Dance Group; Bollywood Performance by Storm Entertainment; Bharatnatyam Dance by Ramya and Belly Dancing by Karima Dancers. There were other individual and group performances which entertained the audience upto 9 pm. The raffle and the Indian Refreshments were also appreciated by the people.
Yash Gupta president of the association in his welcoming address outlined the achievements of the Association and added,’ I was delighted that this evenings celebrations fulfilled the main objective of our Association which is to build bridges amongst various communities by organising cultural and social events’.
Meena Mitra, cultural secretary who hosted the event thanked everyone for their contributions to make this evening a memorable one.
“As per last year this year was no different. The build up to the evening was immense and the pressure was really on to make this show better than the last one. When I heard that the show was a sell out that was when I started to panic. Obviously, there was no need to.
As always, when the curtains open and the music starts everything just falls into place.
It is always a pleasure to be involved with a cultural show like this in Thurrock and it is important to mention that the show is only successful due to the support from the community and the performers. They definitely make the evening a success.
Thank you to all those who attended the evening. Recognition also needs to be given to the Theatre staff who helped to reduce my stress levels!”
