The Diwali Festival Market offered a new shopping experience for many in Barrie this weekend.
“We don’t have many vendors here or a shopping centre to buy Indian outfits and jewellery,” said organizer Vimochana Attili. “The idea was to bring in the vendors who have a huge collection from the GTA (Greater Toronto Area).
“So that people don’t have to travel to GTA for shopping during the festival season, and they can do their shopping here at reasonable prices, without travelling.”
She estimated as many as 60 people attended Saturday.
There were a dozen or so vendors at Crown Banquet Hall on the weekend, selling clothing from different parts of India, jewellery from Kashmir and south India, holistic crystals and stones, candles, room spray and gift baskets for men, women and children.
“We thought this could be a new thing to do, call all the vendors from the GTA and encourage them to come to this small city,” Attili said.
Gudyia Sahota of MixPitara is just such a vendor and got encouragement from a family member to attend Diwali Festival Market.
“My sister lives in Alliston and she wanted me to come,” Sahota said. “It’s nice coming to the community.”
Diwali is a major Hindu religious festival, honouring Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Celebrated throughout India during the new year according to the Vikrama calendar, it is marked by feasting, gifts and the lighting of lamps.
“It’s the Festival of Lights, where we celebrate with the whole community together,” Attili said.
The Diwali Festival Market is being held at Crown Banquet Hall at 70 Essa Rd., which is within Nawab’s Indian Cuisine, owned by Kiran and Vimochana and Kiran Attili, at the corner of Essa Road and Burton Avenue.
It continues until 9 p.m. Sunday.
