Festival of Lights 2020 - Diwali

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Funded on
31 Oct 2020

A one-day festival to celebrate Diwali; new beginnings; the relationship between light and life; and the importance of community all through cultural dance and interactive workshops.

£21,265 Raised of £21,177

10 Backers

100%

Our Delivery Report

Funded on 31 October 2020 | Delivered on 14 November 2020

£21,265

RAISED

10

BACKERS

235

DAYS TO FUND

BIGGEST PLEDGE

Largest pledge from HCCE

£5,000

From HCCE

£5,000

MOST POPULAR PLEDGE AMOUNT

Aylesbury Vale District Council donated £5,000

Project Image

More about our impact

The environment

Due to the pandemic this transformation could not take place, despite this we know that the light still shone through the virtual medium

The local economy

We hope that those businesses that sponsored would have enjoyed the rewards from the exposure and service providers were all rewarded financially for the essential expertise given to make the project possible

Volunteering, jobs & education

Members who have never worked on such a project came forward to make a contribution and learn from the experience

Arts, culture & heritage

Feedback received from visitors on how much they enjoyed the variety of artisitic and cultural heritage in terms or rituals, food, folk and modern dance, storytelling, and words of insight

Activity, health and leisure

Our various taster interactive workshops allowed participants to have a go at something new

https://holycowcommunityevents.org/

Towards the end of August 2017, on a whim, Poonam Gupta owner of the much loved Home interirors and gift shop in town centre decided to organise the Festival of Lights as a way to bring communities together and celebrate this festival aka Diwali the Hindu new year.

She aired the idea with a few friends, and key players who organise town events and with a few volunteers a voluntary group was formed called Holy Cow Community Events, whose sole purpose was to organise Diwali - Festival of Lights and invite the wider community to join in. The small scale event was organised in a timeframe of two months. Calling on local businesses for raffle prizes to help with raising funds to cover overheads and with a little help from Aylesbury Town Council and William Harding Grant this was achieved.

Poonam is no stranger to organising community events, when she and her family first moved away from London, to live in the vale of Aylesbury, her family were made to feel very welcome, she very quickly became part of an active and vibrant community. Soon she was involved in fund raising activities for the parish she lived in. She organised a traditional village fete with a twist to raise record breaking funds for the church, and record breaking funds for "auction of promises" through offering how to make an authentic curry lessons, she also organised Diwali celebrations with an aim to raise funds, it was a natural progression to move the celebration to the town.

Please join in, as she invites you to be part of a strong community to create beautiful memories, particpate, share, learn, be active both mindfully and physically so we can make the most of life and hope for a better tomorrow at all times.

In 2021 Poonam has set up a Community Interest Organisation charity registration number 01194665. This year would be the first year Poonam along with her fellow trustees who are also volunteers will deliver the project

Project Owner: Poonam Gupta The Project Owner takes legal responsibility for receiving and spending the funds raised and ensuring the project is delivered.