Light Up Diwali Will Return to the Montclair Art Museum on October 17, 2026

As the festive season of Deepavali approaches, we have heard from many AAPI Montclair community members wondering if the Light Up Diwali celebration at the Montclair Art Museum is happening. Light Up Diwali has always been one of the most joyful days of the year for us, a day when our beloved South Asian American community members generously share their creative and cultural gifts with our wider community and children take pride in celebrating their families’ traditions with their friends and neighbors.

Sadly, the Montclair Art Museum, which has been an incredibly generous partner to us since our founding, did not have any dates available in October 2025, and our small organization simply did not have sufficient combined staff and volunteer capacity to produce this large-scale event in September or November.

Instead, this year we have celebrated the Diwali season with a wonderful garba for 250+ community members, an oil lamp-lighting in Downtown Montclair featuring community performances, beautiful Diwali/Deepavali banners along Park Street and other areas in the Montclair Center BID, educational resources on Diwali shared via Teach Asian American Stories, and inventory loans or financial support for 6+ Diwali celebrations planned by community members locally and across NJ. While we understand these efforts may only go so far to allay the disappointment over missing Light Up Diwali this year, we hope they at least demonstrate how much we cherish the season of Deepavali and all of our community members who celebrate it.

We are thrilled to share that Light Up Diwali will return to the Montclair Art Museum on October 17, 2026–so please mark your calendars and block out your dance rehearsal schedules! We are also actively recruiting for a full-time organizer to support local programming and ensure that our community’s most cherished celebrations, Light Up Diwali foremost among them, are able to return on an annual basis. We humbly ask for your understanding and support to help us sustain this investment, and encourage everyone to join the Montclair Art Museum as members to take advantage of the museum’s year-round programming and help expand their base to more fully reflect the diversity they have helped us to celebrate.

Thank you again for your care for our communities, and please keep an eye out for the volunteer call for Light Up Diwali 2026! Happy Deepavali to all!