#96-10-23
For Release: 10-25-96
Contact: Peter Bailley

Aaina, the South Asian Club at Knox College, and the India Association of Galesburg will co-host a free, public celebration of the Indian festival Diwali, at 2 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 2, in Kresge Recital Hall, Ford Center for Fine Arts, Knox College.

The event will include singing, dancing, and skits, performed by both Knox students and community members.

Diwali is one to the most important annual Hindu festivals. The name is derived from a Sanskrit term meaning row of lights. During the festival, which marks the start of the new year according to the Vikrama calendar, small earthenware lamps are placed along the parapets of temples and houses. The festival honors Laksmi, the goddess of wealth, and commemorates the return and coronation of Rama (an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu).

Founded in 1837, Knox is an independent, four-year, liberal arts college, located in Galesburg, Illinois, with 1,100 students from 42 states and 33 nations. Knox's "Old Main," a National Historic Landmark, is the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.