Activities

Learn more about Indian culture from the comfort of your home with these activities. Get crafty, try a new recipe, enjoy a classic movie, listen along to local artists, and dance along with Diwali performers.

Recipes

Try a new vegetarian recipe that will bring to life the flavours of Diwali in your kitchen at home.

Moong Dal Halwa

A slow cooked yellow lentil pudding in milk and ghee.

Download recipe

Coconut Barfi

A traditional Indian sweet using fresh grated coconut.

Download recipe

Semiya Payasam

A South Indian vermicelli pudding with milk and spices.

Download recipe

Chole Bhature

A delicious chickpea curry with deep fried bread.

Watch tutorial

Coconut Masala Rice

A one-pot vegeterian rice meal from Western India.

Download recipe

Dosa

A popular savoury crepe or pancake.

Download recipe

Dance

Check out the performances from local dance groups that usually take the stage at the Auckland Diwali Festival.

Why not dance along too?

Crafts

Get crafty with these simple guides that will bring colour and creativity to your home.

Henna

Try your hand at henna tattoos with these easy templates.

Download template

Rangoli

Get creative with colour in these rangoli templates.

Download template

Marigold Garland

Brighten your home with these simple paper marigold garlands.

Download guide

Diya

Make your own diya (lamp) for the Festival of Lights.

Download guide

Music

Enjoy our playlist of the sounds of Diwali featuring local artists and songs you'd hear at the festival

Movies

Check out these must-watch movies and films you can enjoy at home on a range of streaming services.

The Lunchbox

A mistaken delivery connects a young housewife to an older man and they build a world together through notes in the lunchbox. $5 per movie, no subscription required.

Watch on YouTube

Life of Pi

A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger. Subscription to Disney+ required.

Watch on Disney+

Yesterday

A struggling musician realizes he's the only person on Earth who can remember The Beatles after waking up in an alternate timeline where they never existed. $5 per movie, no subscription required.

Watch on Google Play

Bride & Prejudice

A modern adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice, that features the lives of four unmarried daughters in an Indian family. $5 per movie, no subscription required.

Watch on YouTube

Million Dollar Arm

A sports agent stages an unconventional recruitment strategy to get talented Indian cricket players to play Major League Baseball. Subscription to Disney+ required.

Watch on Disney+

About Auckland Diwali Festival

The Auckland Diwali Festival is a popular, family-friendly festival held annually in central Auckland.

Diwali erformers looking down at camera in traditional dress

History

Since 2002, the Auckland Diwali Festival has grown to be a hugely popular, free, family friendly event showcasing traditional and contemporary Indian culture and Auckland's diverse Indian communities. It is now produced by the region's cultural and economic agency, Auckland Unlimited, on behalf of Auckland Council and with founding partner the Asia New Zealand Foundation.

Find out more