CIC Diwali Gala 2019

The Cambrian Indian Community (CIC) is excited to present its Diwali Gala 2019! Get your tickets here.

We had our first ever Diwali Gala last year with a bunch of ideas! We wanted our community to come together to relax, chat, dance, eat and have a great evening It was a big success based on all your experiences. 

This year, we want to make it even better and take it up a notch!  Here is a taste of what is coming: 

1. Better Food : Festival=Food! We got you! We are picking an exciting menu from the best Bay area restaurants.  Come hungry :) 

2. Kids Activities Center: We heard it loud and clear that parents want to relax knowing their kids are nearby while not having to chase them all the time. We have booked a Kids Activity Center, next door to the hall! Kids will be entertained, Parents get to relax & have fun while the kids are engaged in some interesting activities. 

3. Professional DJ: Kids activities taken care of. Food taken care of. Nothing more to worry about. Come, dance the night away to the tunes of a professional DJ :)  

4. Spirits: In the spirit of the season, we will have some alcoholic beverages - this time with more options than last year . There is a limit though, so please drink responsibly.

5. More Things to do: We are planning to have an icebreaker like last year. We are looking to have more time for adult activities this year.

Buy your tickets here.

Logistics

Date: Sunday, 17th November, 2019

Venue: Orchard City Banquet Hall, 1 W Campbell Ave, Campbell, CA 95008

Time: 5-9pm

Dress Code: Colorful Indian party/festival attire

Tickets: Please read ticket information below prior to purchasing your tickets.

• Each adult and kid ticket includes entry to event and catered vegetarian dinner.

• Adult (13 and above): $25/ person

• Kids (aged 3-15): $20/ person

• Kids (less than 3): Free

• Alcohol: $5 per alcohol ticket for beer/wine, $7.50 for premium beverages 2 tickets max per adult

Additional Ticket Information - Please read prior to buying tickets.

• Given that ticket availability is capped due to hall considerations, we will restrict each buyer to 6 tickets. If you intend to purchase more tickets, please email cambrianindiancommunity@gmail.com with your request and you will be placed on a waitlist. - We cannot promise that we will be able to accommodate your request but will do our best.

• Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. When you purchase your ticket, it will be tied to your email address used to make the transaction and where you will receive your ticket confirmation.

• Kids under 3 can attend the event for free. You will require to purchase a free ticket for each kid under 3 in the family during the ticketing process to allow us to keep track of the total hall attendee count but you will not be charged for it.

• Tickets will not be sold at the venue.

CIC Diwali Gala presented by BB Travel Experts - Event Day Logistics

Please read this note in its entirety. It contains details about the CIC Diwali Gala happening at the Orchard City Banquet Hall (in Campbell Community Center) on Saturday, 10-Nov, 2018. 

Event Date: Saturday, 10-Nov, 2018

Time: 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Location: Orchard City Banquet Hall, Campbell Community Center, 1 West Campbell Avenue, Campbell, CA-95008

Event Day Logistics:

• Doors will open at 5:30 pm and will close at 8:30 pm. The hall has to be vacated by 9:00 pm.

• Registration: There will be a registration desk when you come in where you will pick up your raffle coupons, ticket (for photo booth - more on that later) and drink tokens (if purchased). Please retain all of them as you will be needing them during the event.

• Photo Booth: There will be a photo booth with family photos by Ram Athreya. Each family will get one opportunity (by turn) to get their photos taken. Your family will be called based on your ticket number. Please pay attention when your number is called. Due to time constraints we will not be accommodating more than one picture per family nor will we able to do anything other than family photos. Once the official photo booth is done, the photo booth area will be available until the end of the show for friends and family to take as many photos as they desire with their phones.

• The hall will be divided into two sections - one with banquet style seating for dinner and the other, the dance floor/ standing area. There will also be chairs in the corners of the room for friends to sit and talk.

• Music: There will be a professional DJ providing music throughout the evening.

• Food: Chai and an appetizer will be available from around 6 pm. A banquet style dinner will be served around 7 pm. Food is being catered by Ananda Bhavan.

• Drinks: The bar will be open from 6 pm for people who have purchased their alcohol. There will be a selection of beer and wine to choose from. Alcohol will not be available for purchase at the event. 

• Games: There will be a fun game from around 6:15pm. We request everyone to participate in the fun. 

• Parking: There is ample parking in the complex.

• Trash and Clean Up: The event is managed entirely by volunteers and there will be limited time to clean up afterwards. We request all attendees to dispose their trash (plates and cups) in designated trash bins and not leave them lying around. We also strongly recommend parents bring a water bottle for their kids to reduce waste.

• Kids: Parents are responsible for their kids safety. The hall is large enough to accommodate everyone. Kids can move around relatively freely. But once kids leave the hall, it will be hard to track them in the dark beyond the lobby. So we request parents to keep a watchful eye on their kids. 

• Raffle Prizes: There are some exciting raffle prizes to be given away during the event. For folks who have bought the raffle tickets online, you will get them at registration. For everyone else, you will have a chance to buy raffle tickets at the registration desk.

• Ticket Transfers: If you had to transfer your tickets (or if you are the recipient of tickets you picked up from someone else), please let us know prior to the event so we can give you the right ticket. You can email Nekzad@gmail.com with the information.

If you have any last minute questions or concerns, email or message Nekzad or Prabhu.

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

CIC Board and Officers.

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CIC presents Diwali Gala 2018 sponsored by BB Travel Experts

The Cambrian Indian Community (CIC) is excited to present its first ever Diwali Gala sponsored by BB Travel Experts, Trinethra Supermarkets and LSJ Financial. Before we get into specifics, here are the key event details:

Date: Saturday, 10th November, 2018

Venue: Orchard City Banquet Hall, 1 W Campbell Ave, Campbell, CA 95008

Time: 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Dress Code: Colorful Indian party/festival attire

Tickets: Please read ticket information below prior to purchasing your tickets.

• Each adult and kid ticket includes entry to event and catered vegetarian dinner.

• Adult: $20/ person

• Kids (aged 3-12): $15/ person

• Kids (less than 3): Free

Additional Ticket Information:

Please read prior to buying tickets.

• Given that ticket availability is capped due to hall considerations, we will restrict each person to 6 tickets. If you intend to purchase more tickets, please email cambrianindiancommunity@gmail.com with your request and you will be placed on a waitlist. We cannot promise that we will be able to accommodate your request but will do our best.

• Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. When you purchase your ticket, it will be tied to your email address used to make the transaction and where you will receive your ticket confirmation.

• Kids under 3 can attend the event for free. You will require to purchase a free ticket for each kid under 3 in the family during the ticketing process to allow us to keep track of the total hall attendee count.

• Tickets will not be sold at the venue.

• You can also buy as many raffle tickets as you desire (raffle prizes will be announced over the next few days)

Event Details:

The CIC has typically organized a performance based Diwali event at this time of the year. This year we are making some changes to that. Given the effort it takes to organize the performances based Diwali event and how it impacts the Dusshera/Navarathri season, we are moving it to Spring and retitling that event as our Annual Day. Look for more details on the Annual Day later this year.

There has also been a demand from community members for a more casual and relaxed get-together where friends come together to celebrate the festive season. This gala is our attempt at addressing that request. We are doing it for the first time and are using this opportunity to try a few new ideas. Here they are.

1. This event will be performance free. There will be a professional DJ playing music and one half of the large hall will be cleared to accommodate folks who let their hair down and dance the evening away.

2. We are offering a dinner buffet to allow attendees to sit down with friends and family in a banquet style seating arrangement and have a casual dinner.

3. Finally, we will also be offering alcoholic beverages for the first time. This is how it will work. Each adult can purchase (during their ticketing) two alcoholic beverage tickets for $5 each. A family of two adults can thus purchase as many as four alcoholic beverage tickets. Beverage options will be limited to beer and wine. There will not be an active bar at the event nor will alcohol be available for purchase at the venue. So if you would like to purchase it, please do so when you buy your event tickets.

We will share the dinner menu in the coming days along with event day logistics. We will also have a raffle during the event with some really cool prizes. A little birdie tells us that a pretty fancy wireless noise cancelling headphone might be one of the raffle prizes. More details in the coming days.

We look forward to seeing you at the event. It will be a lot of fun and best of all, you get to hang out with all your old friends and make new ones too!

Before I leave you, I would like to tell you about our three sponsors for the event. Returning as our Grand Sponsor is Cambrian’s very own BB Travel Experts. Bomi Patel, Proprietor of BBTES lives in our community and has been a major patron of all our events. Also returning as Gold Sponsors are Trinethra Supermarkets, our local Indian grocery store and LSJ Financial, our supportive financial planner. We request one and all to support these businesses who have been pillars in our community.

Buy your tickets here.

CIC Diwali Dhamaka 2016 - Event Day Guidelines

CIC Diwali Dhamaka 2016

Presented by LSJ Financial

Event Day Guidelines

November 12, 2016

The CIC Diwali Dhamaka 2016 Organizing Team

Dear friends and patrons of the Cambrian Indian Community,

Welcome to our biggest event of the year, CIC Diwali Dhamaka 2016 presented by LSJ Financial. Our team of coordinators, choreographers and volunteers have put together a great event for you. Organizing an event with over 400 people expected to be in attendance, poses unique challenges for a completely volunteer-driven organization. To make this event an enjoyable experience for everyone involved, we have put together a set of guidelines. We kindly request that you read this document in its entirety to help you know what to expect at the event. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Team RAG and we’ll ensure they are answered promptly.

Event Date, Time, Location and Parking Details

Date: Saturday, Nov 12th, 2016

Time: 2:00pm - 5:30pm.Check-in closes at 1:50 pm. Participant/Choreographer check-in at 1:00PM

Venue: Orchard City Banquet Hall, Campbell Community Center, 1 W Campbell Ave, Campbell, CA 95008.

Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/A2qf2qdih8K2

Look for signs to the Orchard City Banquet Hall to guide you to the correct parking area/spots.

Additional free parking is available at the below locations nearby:

• 2nd Street Parking Garage, on Civic Center Dr, between 2nd & 3rd St. (~8 min walk) -  https://goo.gl/maps/UmUBqTx6gW52

• Home Church @ Winchester & Latimer (~7 min walk) - https://goo.gl/maps/33t9dyRtWnQ2

Registration and Food Tokens

• If you haven’t received your tickets yet, please register yourself at the reception.

• If you already have Khabar/tickets, please present your tickets at the reception.

• Note: Registration closes at 1:50PM and tickets are necessary to get your snack boxes.

If you have signed up for childcare, you should have already received a separate email with details. If not, please reach out to us.

Event Schedule

This is the planned event timing. (The sequence of events will be available in the Cambrian Khabar that will be distributed during registration on the day of the event (you would have already received it if you are a participant or volunteer):

2:00 - 3:15 pm: Child performances

Snack break

4:15 - 5:30 pm: Adult performances

Seating

• Given the size of the audience, we will not be able to move chairs. Also, the aisle spaces are necessary for easy movement of people.

• We are unable to reserve or hold specific seats for you in the auditorium. Let us be fair to people who take the effort to come early please.

• We request you to kindly refrain from leaving your seat in the middle of the program. Also, please silence your phones. The participants (kids & adults alike) have put in a lot of effort into the program and this is the least we could do as a community to appreciate that.

• In the rare situation when you have to step out, please note that you’ll be allowed to re-enter only during program transitions (for the same reasons as above)

• Please keep small children seated with you at all times and do not let kids run around in the lobby area or inside the auditorium.

Participant Seating

The first five rows of seating in front of the stage are reserved for participants, choreographers and photographers. Keeping this area clear for them will ensure a smooth and trouble free flow of events.

Event Photography/ Videography

We are having a talented and dedicated team of volunteer photographers and videographers covering the event in many ways and angles possible. In addition, we have reserved one row of seats in the front for parents to come forward and take their own pictures/videos. Since seating is limited in this special row, we request parents to only come forward and occupy these seats for their child or spouse’s performance and to vacate the seat at the conclusion of the performance. Please do not stand up to take pictures while seated in the front row. If you need to, you may do so from the sides of the hall by the windows - in which case please position yourself there at the beginning of the program and move out of the area at its conclusion. Please be proactive and quick in moving in and out of this area so that all parents can have a chance to capture pictures/videos of their children. In addition, please refrain from moving in and out of this row during performances. We would like to keep all the aisles and walkways clear at all times.

Food & Water

Snacks will be provided during the snack break. Please hold on to your tickets!. Ushers will be present to guide you to the rear of the auditorium where food boxes will be distributed. The snack is vegetarian and dairy free. Please reach out to food volunteers (during the break) if you have specific questions about the ingredients. Chai for adults and lemonade/other cold beverage for kids will also be available at this time. A water station will be available inside the auditorium for the entire duration of the event (2:00 - 5:30 pm). Please follow the instructions posted on the auditorium walls to properly dispose of leftovers and food boxes.

Who to Approach for Help

Floor coordinators wearing a black sash with the words “Volunteer, Cambrian Indian Community” in green neon color will be present inside the auditorium. Please reach out to them at any time for any concerns or questions.

Event Sponsors

Our sponsors will be positioned in the lobby area. Please make it a point to visit them to know what products and services they offer. Without their generous sponsorship, the event would have been impossible to pull off.

Again, please do not let kids run around in the lobby area or inside the auditorium.

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Restrooms and water fountains are available right outside the main hall in the lobby area. Please refrain from using the restrooms inside the hall - this will be used as a changing room for participants.

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Appendix

Snack Box Contents:

• Vada pav

• Upma

• Chutney

• Mysore pak (sweet)

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Presenting our Grand Sponsor for Diwali 2015 - BB Travel Experts

It gives me immense pleasure in presenting to you, the Grand Sponsor for the CIC Diwali 2015, BB Travel Experts. We are incredibly thankful for BBTES for being our Grand Sponsor for this year. As the Grand Sponsor, they get the naming rights for the event. So you will henceforth see me addressing the event as "CIC Diwali 2015 presented by BB Travel Experts" Before I talk about BBTES, let me write briefly about how this sponsorship came about.

Earlier this year, on behalf of CIC, I conducted an event, Discover India. This quiz and trivia event on all things India was the first of its kind for the community. I was looking for a partner who aligned closely with the theme of the event, namely, India and exploring the wonderful things about our home. Thanks to Nekzad, I was introduced to the wonderful Bomi Patel of BB Travel Experts. Over the next few days, Bomi and I realized that we have much to offer each other. The Cambrian Indian Community needs a travel partner who understands its needs and Bomi wanted to offer his services to the local community. 

When we decided to open up sponsorships for Diwali 2015,I reached out to some of our past sponsors, BBTES included. I sent an introductory email and about 15 minutes later, Bomi responded saying he wanted to be the Grand Sponsor. This gesture speaks volumes of how much he values our community and our partnership.

Before I tell you all about what BBTES offers, here is my request. Consider them for your next trip to India or anywhere else for that matter or when your family is making a trip here. Bomi and BBTES need  the support of a vibrant community like ours and we need partners like him to invest in our activities and community. A partnership happens when there is mutual benefit. Just as we are thrilled to have BBTES sponsor our event, we sincerely hope he that the community will thrill with our response by allowing them to take care of our travel needs.

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About BB Travel Experts:

BB Travel Experts (BBTES) is full service travel agency with airlines ticketing with live agents, Cruise, Hotels, Car Rental, Tour and Travels.

With over 14 years of total experience in the industry, BBTES is fully accredited travel agency by IATAN and CLIA, Industry regulators of Airlines and Cruise industries respectively. BBTES is also registered as Seller of Travel with California Department of Justice.

BBTES is your Ultimate point of contact for all your travel needs. Including last minute or emergency travel. BBTES also offers ticketing from India to USA and Canada, payable in INR or US$ and also offers Travel Insurance which include Medical and Dental services while in USA and Canada at a low price of travel insurance. ​

This is what I wrote about them 6 months ago. 

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Road to Cambrian Diwali 2015: Call for Participants

We are excited to open up the CIC Diwali 2015 event for participant sign ups. This is an incredibly popular affair and we expect sign ups to get all taken up in a day or two. So please consider signing up asap.

Here is the link to the form for signing up for events:

http://goo.gl/forms/6K3sdbZHNd

Look forward to seeing your entries soon.

Road to Cambrian Diwali 2015: Call for Coordinators and Choreographers

CIC Diwali 2015 needs you. That about sums this post. Here is why.

CIC Diwali 2015 is off the races and we need your help to make it a grand event. If you think you have the chops to help coordinate specific activities during the event- please sign up today.

For those new to CIC Diwali, this is our biggest event of the year. We had close to 400 people last year and the event always sells out well in advance. It is a really big deal.

Who are we looking for now?

1. Coordinators for various activities. Most tasks will have 1-2 coordinators and a team of volunteers that the coordinators will have to assemble. We will help to identify volunteers, of course. ee FAQs below for coordinator roles available.

2. Choreographers for various performances. There are kid and adult performances that will happen for Diwali. We are looking for choreographers (1-2) per performance. At this time, just let us know if you want to choreograph something and the target group- adult or kid. The kids in performances will have a separate sign-up process. So for now, we are just signing up choreographers.

3. Photographers and Videographers to cover the event. Ideally we are looking for 3 photographers and 1 videographer.

FAQs

What does a coordinator role mean?

Coordinators work independently with their teams to run specific activities and components of the event. For the most part, coordinators will have to identify their teams and what needs to be done, well in advance. Here at CIC, we take big pride in planning and our attention to detail. If that is your strength, we would love to have you be a coordinator. A coordinator leads by example. Everyone is a leader and everyone is a worker bee here. 

What are the coordinator roles available?

1. Adult Performances (2)
2. Child Performances (2)
3. Parking (1)
4. Hall Prep and Post Event Cleanup (3)
5. Reception (2)
6. Decoration (1)
7. Food Planning (2)
8. Childcare (2)
9. Program Flow (1)
10. Crowd Management (2)
11. Audio and Video (2)
12. Newsletter (2 - 1 adult/ 1 teen)

Does coordinator role mean I spend a lot of time on the event?

No. We break the tasks down to a fairly granular level. Once you get the details figured out with your team, everything else will really happen in October. This is not a huge time commitment. But it is a commitment to the community to make sure the task at hand is executed well. 

Can I pick a specific coordinator role?

Once we have a list of folks interested in coordinating specific activities, we will work with you in identifying what will work best for you and CIC. For many, this will be their ideal role. For a few, there might not be because some roles are always more desired than others but every job eventually needs to get done. If you have a specific skillset or experience doing one of these roles, please let us know.

I have been a coordinator before. Can I sign up again?

Sure. Why not? You know what it takes and that helps a lot. You might get the same role or a different role which will be decided based on the sign-ups.

I am new to the community. I dont know many people. How can I coordinate?

You are exactly the person we want. Someone new to the community brings a lot of fresh ideas to the mix and that makes a huge difference. No one wants to see the same things year over year. We will help you build your committee and make new friends.

Will we have a lot of meetings?

We will probably meet once every few weeks until the early October after which we will meet once a week- usually no more than 45 min-1 hr. Some committees might meet more often while others might not meet until late October.

What it is in it for me?

Working behind and in front of the scenes for CIC Diwali is the best way to make friends in the community. If you are new to the area, this is a great way to make a ton of friends. Every one of us has fabulous memories of participating, volunteering and coordinating small and large tasks for Diwali. We have made a ton of friends along the way. This is the BEST way to become an integral part of this growing CIC family.

I want to know more before I sign up.

Definitely. Reach out to any of your friends in the community who has participated/volunteered in the past years. The CIC Board has members who have done this for a decade now. Reach out by email or on Facebook. We will be glad to answer your questions.

Where do I sign up?

Email cambrianindiancommunity@gmail.com with the Subject: Coordinator/Choreographer/Photographer for Diwali 2015 and let us know what you can and would like to help out on. If you have experience in that role, that would help a lot.

What are you waiting for?

Road to Cambrian Diwali 2015: Shubharambh

Last Friday, a few of us got together to formally kick off the preparation for CIC Diwali 2015. In the coming months, the activity will pick up pace culminating in the largest event of the year on Nov 7th at the Seven Trees Community Center from 2 pm to 6 pm. This blog and our website launched last Diwali and we have been using it to communicate as often as possible. This year, we will have frequent behind the scenes looks at how such a large event comes together, purely by volunteer efforts. Stay tuned to this blog for frequent updates on the road to Cambrian Diwali 2015.

Cambrian Diwali 2014

2014 was a big year for our community since the number of families exploded and the size of our Diwali event literally doubled. We had to scale rapidly and learned a bunch of things in the process. Participants from last year were also kind enough to share their feedback and we want to make sure we are addressing as many concerns from last year as possible, while retaining the best parts. For those not familiar with how Cambrian Diwali works and to everyone else who is curious, here is a brief timeline of how things will unfold.

Feb-Mar 2015: Visit multiple possible venues and finalize venue. This year, we have been fortunate to book the main hall at the Seven Trees Community Center for our Diwali celebration. This was possible due to the tireless efforts of Latha, Sonal and Krithika. 

May 2015: Planning kicks off. We will look at how we want to do things different from last year. Some broad ideas and themes will emerge in terms of what needs to change. For example, this years event is scheduled in the afternoon. We will not have dinner as part of our event. This will help us address a lot of feedback from last year. We also started looking at other broad issues as total event time, parking, childcare, and more. 

We will identify the core teams needed to drive the various components of the event and then solicit volunteers and coordinators for as many activities as possible. One of the key goals for this year is to have as many new people participate in event organization as possible.

June 2015: Once the coordinators are identified, we will put some structure around the performances and then solicit sign ups for choreographers, volunteers and participants. Parents please note- event participation is very popular in the community and slots will fill up rapidly. We will communicate in advance to get folks prepared.

July/Aug 2015: Summer time. Nothing major will happen unless choreographers can pull their crew together. Sponsorships will have to be locked in.

Sept 2015: We will start planning the flow of the event with slots, timing and such. Event magazine (Cambrian Khabar effort will start) We will have meetings periodically with coordinators. Coordinators will choose the cadence of their meetings with their teams.
We will also open the event ticketing. The CIC Diwali event tends to get sold out within a day or two. We will give ample advance notice before we open up ticketing. But be aware that tickets will sell out fast.

Oct 2015: Rubber meets the road. Everything comes together. Much more on this later.

We will add details as we move along. 

If you are interested in helping out in any way possible - let one of us know. We will formally open things up soon but you can always let us know you are interested.

Exciting times ahead!

Diwali 2014 Feedback: What you told us

The CIC Board met on December 5th, 2014 for their quarterly sync up. This event was open to all members of the Cambrian Indian Community. The meeting minutes are captured here. 

The agenda's biggest topic that took over 2 hours of discussion was all about Diwali 2014. Rukmini, as the organizer shared her thoughts on what went right and what could be done better. We then took individual feedback from everyone who attended the meeting. There were good points raised which will be addressed when we start planning for Diwali 2015 early next year. The one thing we did want to share here is the data we got from all your feedback responses (43 in all). As big believers in the power of data, we thoroughly appreciate what you told us in the feedback form. And here are the big takeaways.

1. The One about the Event Pricing

Going into the event, we were worried about the $20 entry fee. To make the event happen at the scale we wanted to, and to accommodate all the people in a reasonably spacious auditorium, we needed to charge $20 at a minimum. Any lesser and we would have not broken even. All our worries went away by a majority of you telling us that you felt the event was a steal or rightly priced. Thank you. We operate on a shoe string budget with absolutely no fat and it helps that you understand.

2. The One about the Event Duration

It is always a challenge trying to architect an event to keep people from a diverse age group interested and engaged all the time. To that effect, props to Rukmini and her huge team of choreographers, coordinators and parent helpers for helping pull off a show that ended fairly close to the planned time. We will try to keep the same amount of time in mind while programming next year.

3. The One about the Food

The feedback on food has two components to it. One was the subjective text entry where people echoed their thoughts on the taste and then there was the objective choice on the food pricing. The food taste itself seems to be well received. On the matter of food pricing, we hear you loud and clear. You liked the food but found the quantity to be insufficient or not worth the $7. This will be a big priority for us to address in 2015. We are thinking along multiple lines to understand how best to get good quality food catered at the right price and with the right quantity. We will communicate the steps we take in this regard closer to the event next year. 

4. The One about the Event itself

This was the one that makes us want to do so much more. As a community, you have responded extremely positively to the overall event which gives us a huge shot in the arm. Diwali at Cambrian has grown to be a massive affair that required hundreds of hours of planning and meetings and thousands of emails not to mention the practice and execution. And there is no greater reward than this graphic. We would obviously want everyone to think it to be great and will work towards it next year.

5. Now, for the finer details

In the fields where people were asked to enter their thoughts on the event, we heard some recurring themes. They are:

• STAGE: We need a stage or a raised platform to watch the performances and enjoy the event fully. Yes, we know. Circumstances forced us to not have one this year. Now we know how big a difference it makes. We will have one next year, period.
• AUDIO: We had some challenges with the audio setup at the venue and it showed. We are already working on a bunch of ideas to fix this for next year.
• MEET and GREET: This year, the 3-4 pm slot was for members of the community to meet and greet. Some of you felt that this was not sufficient. Increasing this means a longer event which might not go with other feedback on the event duration. When we start programming for next year, we will do our best to address this.

It is incredible to see so many of you take the time to share your thoughts on the event. Many of you were volunteers. Some of you were first timers. And some are veterans at this. All of your opinions matter a lot as we grow as a community and stage events at this scale. Some of this feedback will go into not just next Diwali but also all our Cambrian events throughout the year. 

If you had your thoughts to share on the matter, drop your comments here, or in Facebook or send us an email. 

Thank you once again for attending the event and hope to not just see you next year, but have you volunteer and participate in making Diwali 2015 a grand success.