The vivid colours of Diwali take over the heart of Auckland this month, ahead of the 17th Auckland Diwali Festival. 

The free, family-friendly festival takes place in Aotea Square and Queen St on Saturday, 20 and Sunday, 21 October, from midday until 9pm each day, culminating in a spectacular fireworks display on Sunday night.

Before and during the festival, Vector Lights brings a light show inspired by traditional art form of rangoli to Auckland Harbour Bridge from Thursday, 18 October to Sunday, 21 October. The lights will operate from 7pm until midnight each evening.

Rangoli is a centuries-old Indian art form, where designs are drawn onto the ground, traditionally using coloured powders and embellished with sand, rice, candles or flower petals. The designs can be simple geometric shapes, depict deities or flowers or they can be more elaborate. They are closely associated with special occasions and celebrations.

“Diwali is also known as the festival of lights and we want to expand this element the Auckland Diwali Festival,” says festival producer Leilana Meredith. “It's exciting to have Vector Lights bringing a new facet to the festival for 2018, with the light show on Auckland Harbour Bridge taking its cue from the beautiful colours and designs of rangoli.”

Vector spokesperson Elissa Downey says, “Vector Lights is fast becoming a much-loved cultural asset for Aucklanders and we can't wait to see how Auckland Diwali Festival goers will respond to the rangoli-inspired show we have in store for them. As always, we encourage everyone watching the show to share their pictures and videos far and wide on their social media platforms, so we can show the rest of New Zealand and the world how we celebrate Diwali in style right here in Tāmaki Makaurau!”

On Friday, 19 October, workers, shoppers and visitors to the city centre can get a taste of the festival with the Chalk It Up rangoli-drawing competition in Freyberg Place and free, all ages Diwali-themed activities in Ellen Melville Centre.

Inside Ellen Melville Centre, visitors can have a go at DIY henna or mehndi, learn how to wrap or drape a sari, creating rangoli patterns to take home and play interactive digital Hindi language games. There will also be snacks to sample – sweet mithai treats and savoury namkeen nibbles.

The festival proper kicks off on Saturday, 20 October with mix of performances, from Bollywood to Punjabi, Gujarati to Bharat Natyam, Rajasthani to Hindustani and more, across three areas – the Aotea Square Stage, the Queen St Stage and the Street Zone performances (corner of Queen and Wakefield).

Direct from India, performers from the Kalehri Art & Culture Academy will present entertainment in range of styles including bhangra, gidha, jindua, malwai gidha and jhumar. As well as appearing at the Auckland Diwali Festival, the Kalehri Art & Culture Academy members will perform at the Wellington Diwali Festival and visit local schools.

In addition to the touring international performers, hundreds of local performers and performance groups take part in the Auckland Diwali Festival, collectively presenting a programme with more than 45 hours of live entertainment, across more than 240 different performances.

As well as showcasing and celebrating traditional and contemporary Indian dance and music, the Auckland Diwali Festival is also New Zealand's largest vegetarian festival, with dozens of food stalls operating.