On Saturday, October 10, 2025, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., the Arts4all Foundation, elected officials, community organizations, and New Yorkers gathered for the Diwali and Navaratri Festival and Parade at the World’s Fair Unisphere.
Organizers claim it is “the largest cultural community celebration in Queens.” Annually, the Arts4All Foundation hosts this free event “that pays tribute to the World’s Fair and celebrates the holidays of Diwali and Navaratri at the Unisphere to highlight New York’s diverse arts and culture and support the advancement of human rights, global peace, and harmony,” a press release from organizers said.
Diwali and Navaratri commemorates the triumph of divinity, light, knowledge, and truth, removing darkness, ignorance, inequality, and despair, and fall on the new moon day in the Autumn.
Dr. Sumita SenGupta, the founder of the Arts4All Foundation and organizer of the celebration, said, “The gift of Diwali and Navaratri is the power to come together and illuminate our communities by lighting the Diya lamp of knowledge, truth, and hope to give us the resilience and strength to overcome our challenges, differences, and inequities.”
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According to Arts4All Foundaiton, more than 2,000 New Yorkers attended, and enjoyed traditional festival meals from the different regions of India. The food was provided by Punjabi Dhaba, Santoor Indian Restaurant, Taste of Italy Pizzeria, Hindu Center, The Sikh Cultural Society Inc., Baba Makhan Shah Lubana Sikh Center, Guru Nanak Darbar of Long Island, Harry Sweets and Snack, and Lala Sharma.
Festival goers enjoyed family fun and culturally significant activities, including colorful face painting, henna and Diwali sticker designs, intricate rangoli artwork, yoga, books, and fun games. Dr. SenGupta’s family members Shree Devi SenGupta and Krishna Maruti SenGupta dressed as Goddess Durga and Gopal Krishna, and distributed 2000 toys, 2000 balloons, 1000 gold chocolate coins and shared the iconic stories of Navaratri and Diwali.
Citizens Bank, Citibank, New York Life, Sofiteq, and Grow Infinite Financial Solutions offered free financial guidance and technology training. NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and Mount Sinai Hospital Queens arranged free checkups and medical support, and Health First provided free health insurance information.
Well-known singers and dance performances and a fashion show from the different regions in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and the Caribbean showcasing, were highlights at the event.
The performers and volunteers were Dr. Sumita SenGupta, Dr, Jagmohan Kalra, Upendra Gupta, Asha Dua, Anil Dua, Sanjay Sharma, Gobing Negi Singh, Dr. Bhavani Srinivasan, Yogini Oza, Dr. Govind Oza, Marion Maria, Ajit Shah, Animesh Vyas, Sweta Goswami, Shubra Goswami, Preity Jain, Dilip Rawat, Tina Rawat, Shree Devi SenGupta, Sudarshana Deva SenGupta, Krishna Maruti SenGupta, Dakshina Nair, Vaishavi Randev, Poonam Paliwal, Kavisha Mishra, Kiaara Joshi, Nirvi, Aektha Lakshmi Nair, Shweta Lakshmi Nair, Usha Vora, Sujata Seth, Ashwani K. Beri, Neeru Beri, Gurdarshan Kaur, Prafulba Vaghela, Lala Sharma, Laxmi Sharma, Sonu Gupte, Swati Gupte, Sanandha Thani. Sanjay Sharma, Madhu Sharma, Rajat Tandan, Manik Malhotra, Smitaben Patel, Anil Gupta, Vijay Khanna, Nisha Gupta, Nirvi Jawaji, Chhayal Vaghela, Rashmika Vaghela, Pritpal Kaur Preet Chauhan, Arkhlad Ramachandra, Ujwala Moses, Sunil Jain, Kranti Bhalla, and Kripa Prasad.
The elected officials who attended the event were New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, New York State Senate-elect and Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas, Councilman Shekar Krishnan, Assemblyman Edward Braunstein, Assemblyman Steven Raga, District Leader-at-large Hersh Parikh, and County Civil Court Judge candidate Edmond Wong. Aniket Mondal, Chief of Staff for the Consulate General of India, New York, and YiLing Li, President of the UCT International Culture Development Center, an NGO with the United Nations, also joined in the celebration.
The parade began at sunset and included a walking procession with a Jagannath Rath Yatra. Participants danced Garba around the Unisphere with rainbow-colored dandiya sticks and diya lights in their hands. he festival concluded with a sunset Diya aarti ceremony in front of Shri Ganesha, Shri Panchmukhi Hanuman, Shri Durga, and Shri Jagannath, illuminating the entire park with light.