Diwali-themed night market tonight in Pleasant Hill

Tonight is the final night market of the year in Pleasant Hill. And for the first time, the night market is focused on celebrating Diwali. That's the Hindu Festival of Lights, which is happening this weekend. So to talk about this event, we want to welcome all from Pleasant Hill. We have a big contingent here. Mayor Zach Chess, City Councilmember Belle Law, Diversity Chair Liz Dunham, or excuse me, Noonan, and us. Night Market Operator Sunny Panu, thanks for all coming in here today. Tell us about this Night Market tonight, what makes it different, and how the idea for it came about. So the Night Market actually started about two years ago, and it was an initiative as a resident that came to the Diversity Commission. And it was the AANHPI event, which is the Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander event. And so it was to bring... community resources and also to activate a vacant space so that we can actually support our local businesses and bring resources to our community. And the night market operator Sunny Panu here, who is also a resident of Pleasant Hill, it was selected to actually start the night market in our city and now it has grown to have cultural events throughout the entire community every first and third Fridays and so Diwali is really important because there's a story behind of the importance of Diwali for Sunny himself. Yeah Sunny tell us for people who aren't familiar with Diwali tell us what the significance of the holiday. Diwali is one of the main functions like main event for Indian festivals and Every household in India participates in Diwali, so the whole country is lit up, to be honest, right? So we grew up celebrating Diwali, and we're very excited when Diwali comes because we get new clothes. We used to get fireworks to play around. A lot of people come to your house to exchange gifts, and, yeah, everybody is in a festival mode. And they worship Goddess Lakshmi, who is the goddess of wealth. So, yeah, lots of prosperity, lots of joy, lots of party. and lots of celebration and we're trying to bring the same energy to Pleasant Hill. What does it mean to you that this has now is now the focus of a major public event like a night market in Pleasant Hill? So it's a demand you know so we've been seeing like folks going to different cities to celebrate Diwali as San Ramon was celebrating Diwali and a lot of other cities too and we want to bring the same thing in Pleasant Hill. And that was the plan, and I would like to thank the Diversity Commission, who came with an initiative to bring out Diwali to celebrate in Pleasant Hill. Mayor and Councilmember, what do these night markets bring to the city in terms of visibility? How good is it for business? Why are they ideal? It's both, really. It's visibility, and it's not only good for... The residents of Pleasant Hill, but I believe residents around Pleasant Hill, in the north part of the city, we're very close to Martinez and Concord as well. So it's an opportunity for those residents to come join us, come to Pleasant Hill and enjoy what we have to offer. And also, these are small businesses too, right? So it's giving them an opportunity. To expand, you know, their opportunities to meet new customers and meet new people. So it's a great economic driver for us. So what can people expect when they come to the night market? So this one is special. So we'll have Bollywood dance performances by a very professional school from San Ramon. That's the Ritu Dance School. And along with this, we'll light up Diyas, which are like traditional Indian light lamps, right? So, yeah, pretty much that's going to be the main show today. Light up Diyas, there'll be Indian performances, and we have some illuminated sculptures throughout the... event location. So that's going to be the add-on to the event today. And we'll also have the Indian American Arts Association there where they have an elephant drape as well for all the artists that are within the Indian culture community. And then they also have an exhibition that's happening right now in Livermore. It's called the Elephant Exhibition. And so it's really beautiful. They create these drapes just from their own cultural history. And it's just amazing. You just have to come and see it. And I'll just add that it was really important for the Diversity Commission to be involved in this because we are dedicated to creating a community where people feel like they belong and they can learn new traditions and participate in events that help them get to know their neighbors and get to know their community and really foster a sense of belonging and that they feel like they're at home and feel safe and pleasant home. So let's let folks know where they can find it, how early should they go. I mean, you can also, there's food vendors there as well. It's happening today from 5 to 9 p.m. And the performances will start by 6:30. And people should expect food trucks. People should expect dessert vendors, beverage vendors, kids activities, beer and wine garden, live DJ. So it'll be full of everything. So if you don't want to cook dinner tonight, right, come on down. It's going to be great. Or, you know, your previous story, You're talking about, you know, starting your holiday shopping. Yeah, there's vendors for that as well, yeah. And that all ties in with the great weather we're expecting tonight. Yes, yes. You guys timed it very well. Diwali timed it very well for Mother Nature. Thanks so much for coming in from Pleasant Hill. If you need something to do tonight, head on out to that night market, Diwali Night Market, for the first time ever.