Saint Soldier (Amrit Saggu), a beloved Abbotsford hip hop and spoken word artist, joins the cast of entertainers on Wednesday,Oct. 24 (5 p.m. to 9 p.m.) at Clarke Theatre for the annual MCSS Festival of Light: Diwali. Click HERE to sample his music.

His message of Love and Justice is a welcome addition to the two-hour stage show which begins at 6 p.m.

Come at 5 p.m. and enjoy the free ethnic food in the Heritage Park cafeteria (supplied by Save On Foods in Mission and cooked by the talented crew at Abbotsford Sikh Temple). Tour the more than 25 booths that will be part of the community/commercial bazaar featuring clothing and jewelry, non-profits displays and more.

New sponsors this year are Swing Optical (watch for Satti Grewall’s Mission-Abbotsford highway billboard in October for Diwali promotion; passionate Abbotsford Community Services; and an increased sponsorship by the University of the Fraser Valley.

The District of Mission and the provincial government (multicultural branch) have been strong supporters every year.

Media sponsors are Mission Record, Abbotsford News, Punjabi Patrika and What’s On! Mission (see attached full page here and more generous Diwali sponsors).

Entertainment includes the powerful Hurricane Korean Youth Drummers, Garba Dancers, Abbotsford Arts Academy, Dasmesh Punjabi School, Learning Stars Arts Academy, Mission Khalsa School and ‘Barb’ the 16-foot illuminated sturgeon puppet from The Reach Gallery Museum in Abbotsford.

For more information on Festival of Light: Diwali, email [email protected].

Click HERE for highlights of last year’s Festival of Light: Diwali.

New four foot by eight foot Diwali sign created by NuTek Signs in Mission.