Indian culture will once again be at the forefront in Meadow Lake this weekend. This Sunday (Oct. 12) marks the 2025 Navratri celebration, an event scheduled to get underway at 6:30 p.m. at the Meadow Lake Civic Centre. Navratri is an annual Hindu festival observed in honour of the goddess Durga, an aspect of Adi Parashakti, the supreme goddess. It spans over nine nights, first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and again in the month of Ashvin (September–October). It is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Hindu Indian cultural sphere.
“Navratri is celebrated across the globe, and the reason we are holding an event in Meadow Lake is to help bring different communities together,” explained Dharmanshu Lightwala, a local resident and member of the Indian Society of Meadow Lake. “We’d love to have the chief of Flying Dust First Nation (Tyson Bear) as a guest of honour. We’ve all reached out to the City of Meadow Lake.” During city council’s regular meeting held Sept. 22, an invitation was received from Lightwala and fellow organizer Tawn Marshall, asking for a representative from the city to take part. “As a widely celebrated festival, Navratri brings our community together for nine nights of vibrant music, traditional dance (Garba and Dandiya) and cultural joy,” the invite reads. “And, it’s expected to be the most spectacular yet. A diverse audience of more than 100 attendees is anticipated including families, young adults and cultural enthusiasts from the Meadow Lake and Cold Lake areas. We would love to have you join our celebration. We have set three tickets aside for council or staff to attend, and have space in our program if anyone would like to take a few minutes to speak.”
Lightwala, meanwhile, went on to say Navratri is also a celebration of feminine divine and women power. “This year we are planning for all the master of ceremonies duties to be done by the females of our community,” he said. “We also want communities to come together, enjoy our traditional foods, dance – there will be three hours of dancing – and just to meet each other. That’s the best way to get to know your neighbours and other members of the community.”
The event will begin with a prayer ceremony followed by a welcome dance and even more dancing. Dinner will be served at 8 p.m. “The meal is being prepared by our volunteers,” Lightwala noted. “Its going to be a full-fledged Indian menu.” Delicacies will include salad and papadum, coconut kachori, tamarind sauce, puri, deal tadka, paneer makhni, jeera rice and almond firni. “We will then be calling our guests to speak on the stage, followed by a second and third round of dancing,” Lightwala added. “Each dance round will last for roughly an hour.” Lightwala also said he expects this year’s Navratri celebration to be even bigger and better than last year’s. “Last year it was very successful,” he said. “We are expecting a larger crowd. The people who came last year are our best form of publicity, and we want people to come in large numbers this year.” He also said Navratri is a great way to celebrate Indian culture for the Indian people who live in Meadow Lake and a great introduction to the culture for those unfamiliar with it.
“For the people who don’t know us, this is the best time to introduce ourselves to a larger part of the community and to introduce our culture to them,” he said. “We want to keep this an annual tradition. Every year we want to keep doing this event, and we’ve had a lot of help from the Meadow Lake Library. The library is our official partner on this. We also thank our sponsors who have be very supportive. Without their help we wouldn’t be able to make this event happen.”
Tickets for this year’s Navratri celebration are available at the Meadow Lake Library. The cost for an adult (18 years and older) to attend is $30, for teens (12-18 years) it’s $20 while children under 12 are free.