Renegades & Stars unite for Diwali

The Melbourne Stars and the Melbourne Renegades will take part in Diwali celebrations at Federation Square from 11am tomorrow and will be later joined by Southern Stars all-rounder Lisa Sthalekar for a Q & A panel in the evening.

Stars coach Greg Shipperd and Melbourne Renegades CEO Stuart Coventry will also participate in the panel.

Sthalekar, who was a key contributor to the Southern Stars’ ICC T20 World Twenty20 win in Sri Lanka last month, was born in India before moving to Australia when she was three weeks old and continues to celebrate both cultures and traditions.

Tomorrow’s BBL festivities are part of Federation Square’s free all-day Diwali Indian Festival of Light, hosted by Celebrate India.

As part of the event, Melbournians can also enjoy demonstrations of traditional Henna painting, Classical Indian and Bollywood dance performances and a variety of Indian cuisine and jewellery stalls.

A fireworks display at the banks of the Yarra will close the event in the evening.

Diwali or Deepavali, popularly known as the ‘festival of lights’, is a five day festival generally celebrated between mid-October and mid-November.

During Diwali, small clay lamps are lit to drive away evil spirits and to welcome the goddess Lakshmi.