Sometimes, due to interest or circumstance, we find ourselves participating in the celebration of cultural or religious festivals that may not be part of our own cultural heritage. Experiences like this often leave a distinct impression on the visitor, opening up their eyes to different traditions and perhaps even different ways of viewing the world.

For those that have travelled both within and outside Australia this is a frequent event. But in everyday life in Australia, this opportunity is becoming more and more frequent as the diversity of cultural traditions within the country continues to bloom. Some, like the Greek Glenti, are well established with much support from business and government alike. The Garma Festival is another well established cultural festival held by the Yolgnu community in East Arnhem. Other cultural festivals are often quieter, celebrated within communities, or are in the early stages of development. The recent Festival of Light, held at Darwin Community Arts, is an example of the growing diversity of cultural festivals that are being shared with the wider community in Australia.

Darwin Community Arts has recently had the pleasure of working with two strong communities  who are making Darwin their home: The Bhutanese and the Burmese. Members of both of these communities have been working with DCA on a number of projects, including My Sisters Kitchen, The Monthly Gatherings, and a variety of other activities. Through this involvement (and many other activities that these communities engage in together) friendships between members of the two communities have grown.

The result of this was a realisation that the two communities both share a festival of light, and that both of these festivals are held during October. The Burmese tradition is Tidingyut, and is celebrated across the country regardless of religion, whilst the Bhutanese tradition of Deepawali is celebrated by Hindu's the world over. Once this realisation occurred members from the two communities decided to hold an event celebrating both festivals, whilst at the same time celebrating the growing number of friendships between people from the two communities. The Festival was a fantastic show of inter-faith respect, understanding, and friendship.

The evening was a wonderful mix, with Burmese pop dancing, traditional songs celebrating Deepawali, an impromptu dance performance by rising Indigenous dance performer Anakin,  speeches from the Burmese and Tamil Community, and welcome to country and entertainment from Ali Mills and her grandchildren. The venue was decorated by a sea of Burmese Lanterns, all created in an open community workshop run by the Burmese Community the previous day (Go to  http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2009/10/29/2727947.htm for an abc radio interview conducted on the day). Following on from the entertainment was a delicious feast provided by the My Sisters Kitchen Project.

The My Sisters Kitchen project is integral to the organisation of events like the Festival of Light. As  
Bhakti Mainalay who is a participant from the Bhutanese Community says, “It is a good place of meeting together and sharing each others feelings and food. We are communally doing the cooking at every event at Darwin Community Arts. And we feel we are very much benefitting from it. We are really getting help and support in our festivals too.”

Darwin Community Arts thank all those community members who joined in the preperations and the celebrations for The Festival of Light. However, a special mention to the DCA Monthly Gathering Steering Committee, without their efforts and involvement events such as these could never happen. It is a priviledge to work with such a diverse array of creative and committed people.