Strings of lights and bursts of color filled BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Chino Hills on Saturday as the Hindu temple opened its three-day Diwali celebration, which included traditional Indian sweets. The festival, themed “Journey Of Inspiration,” is free and open to all, and runs through Monday with family activities, performances and a nightly light-and-sound show at the mandir.
According to Daily Bulletin, the celebration began on Saturday, Nov. 7, and includes family activities, traditional Indian sweets and other cultural traditions. Monks offered spiritual advice during the festival, and the community also saluted service members and their families during Saturday's gathering. Organizers said the temple's lighting and color are meant to introduce visitors to the joy and meaning of the commemoration, per the same report.
What's Happening Each Day
The newspaper's account describes the festival continuing Sunday, Nov. 8, and Monday, Nov. 9, from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., though Champion Newspapers reported the Sunday hours instead running from 3 to 8 p.m., with Monday from 1 to 8 p.m. The discrepancy between the two accounts was not resolved by either report, so both versions are noted here. Champion Newspapers also detailed a fuller slate of activities, including rides, games, traditional Indian street food, nachos, pizza, a Kids Zone, prayers, cultural programs, the lighting of oil lamps, and colored powder patterns laid across entranceway floors.
The festival wraps Monday with Annakut, a display of vegetarian dishes offered to God to express devotion and gratitude, the Daily Bulletin reported. The mandir is at 15100 Fairfield Ranch Road.
A Nightly Light and Sound Show
Centerpiece of the weekend is the Journey of Inspiration Light & Sound Spectacular, the mandir's music and light show. Displays begin at 6:30 p.m. and run every half hour during festival hours.
The Meaning Behind the Lights
Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights, celebrating light triumphing over darkness and honoring good conquering evil, while offering Hindu families a time for reflection, gratitude and gathering with loved ones. Sikh and Jain communities also observe the holiday with their own religious and cultural traditions, according to the Daily Bulletin's reporting.
A 2025 Diwali gathering at the same mandir drew thousands, the Daily Bulletin reported. That report said temple leaders held a special prayer ceremony and that nightly light-and-sound shows ran every 30 minutes beginning at 6:30 p.m. The shows were scheduled to continue Tuesday evening, beginning at 6:30 p.m., while a Hindu New Year celebration was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon until 8 p.m.
