The Festival of Globe (FOG) and the Federation of Indo-Americans Northern California celebrated the Festival of Lights at the FOG Diwali Mela 2026 in Fremont on October 24, at Washington High School! This vibrant cultural event brought the community together under the theme “Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam” (The world is one family) A special highlight of the evening was the Ramayan Show featuring drones.

A large crowd gathers to celebrate Diwali
A large crowd gathers to celebrate the Festival of Light at the 2026 FOG Diwali Mela (image credit: Sobhan Hassanvand for India Currents)
People cgather forva Diwali celebration
The event was hosted by The Festival of Globe (FOG) and the Federation of Indo-Americans Northern California at Washington High School in Fremont (image credit: Sobhan Hassanvand for India Currents)
Indian dancers perform onstage
Dancers perform onstage at the Diwali Mela (image credit: Sobhan Hassanvand for India Currents)
Dancers onstage at a Diwali mela
The event hosted performances by local dance companies .(image credit: Sobhan Hassanvand for India Currents)
Visitors to a Diwali Mela enjoy the festivities
Visitors to the Diwali Mela enjoy the festivities (image credit: Sobhan Hassanvand for India Currents)
Visitors to a Diwali Mela shop in the booths
Booths selling clothing and food were popular with visitors to the Diwali Mela (image credit: Sobhan Hassanvand)
Dacers onstage at a Diwali Mela
Dancers entertained the crowd at the Festival of Light celebrations (image credit: Sobhan Hassanvand for India Currents)
A sign that reads Happy Diwali
A Happy Diwali signs greets visitors at the mela Dancers entertained the crowd at the Festival of Light celebrations (image credit: Sobhan Hassanvand for India Currents)
People at a fairground
Bay Area residents enjoy the food and festivities at the Diwali Medla (image credit: Sobhan Hassanvand for India Currents)

Sobhan Hassanvand is a multimedia journalist and California Local News Fellow at India Currents. Originally from Iran, he worked in social media and news reporting for major outlets in Tehran before earning...