Creighton University’s Desi Cultural Society held their third annual Diwali celebration on Saturday in the Harper ballroom.  

Close to 400 people attended Diwali at Creighton.  Creighton students, faculty, staff, family members and members of the greater Omaha community gathered to witness four dance routines, a fashion show, a musical performance and enjoy free food.

The food was catered by a local Indian catering business called Hyderabad House.  They served chicken biryani, veg biryani, channa masala, chicken tikka masala, butter naan, galub jamun and white rice.

The purpose of the event is for the Desi Cultural Society to display their tradition with the Creighton community.  Diwali, or the Festival of Lights, is a yearly celebration in India and Nepal.

Neha Lamsal, a College of Arts and Sciences junior and a member of the Desi Cultural Society, said that a lot of work went into Diwali this year.

“We had to coordinate and choreograph each performance,” Lamsal said.  “It was great to see how happy everyone was to see their hard work pay off.”

She said there were more performances this year compared to past years, but that their main goal is always to provide free admission and food to share their culture with the Omaha community.

“[The Desi Cultural Society] has many bonding events throughout the year for our members so they feel like they have a home away from home here at Creighton,” Lamsal said.

She added that the Society is always growing, and that it currently has around 45 members.

College of Arts and Sciences senior Laura Catano said that her favorite part of attending the event was the dance performances.

“I really enjoyed that it was very intercultural,” Catano said.  “They included music we hear on the radio as well as cultural music.”

She said the highlight of the event was seeing the joy each dancer expressed.

“It was very happy and fun,” Catano said.  “It was a blast to see their creativity come through.”