ISWA Diwali 2018

The Indian Society of Western Australia’s two-day Diwali festival was held again at Claremont Showgrounds for 2018. Saturday was cool and even had some light showers but that didn’t deter the crowds from having fun. Most seemed to be enjoying the stage shows or the popular food stalls run by local eateries.

Sunday’s weather was great and the fact that many children had school the next day didn’t seem to stop them enjoying the rides and night time fireworks well into the evening. There were plenty of big shots in attendance, Premier Mark McGowan and multi-cultural stalwart Janine Freeman MLA to name a couple.
For me, the main thing I noticed about the event was the improvement in the quality of the stage performances some were top notch highlighted by percussionist Vidwan Vikku Vinayakram and his sons who were in town to perform in the Perth Concert Hall on the Sunday evening.


Whilst there was still a multitude of people attending this year’s Diwali Mela Festival, many felt crowds were lower than usual this year. Probably a result of the large number of activities that are on in spring. ISWA is considering revamping their Diwali Festival and is weighing up options. A one-day event, cheaper or free entry and becoming even more family friendly are some ideas being considered by organisers. It will certainly be on again next year in one form or another that is for sure.