San Antonians turned out to honor India’s colorful traditions Saturday at the 15th annual Diwali San Antonio festival.

Thousands at the Arneson River Theatre and Hemisfair celebrated the “festival of lights” through traditional Indian dance, entertainment, food and crafts. In Indian culture, the most important holiday of the year symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness, of knowledge over ignorance.

The event, which is said to typically draw crowds of between 20,000 and 40,000 people, is co-hosted by the City of San Antonio and Anuja SA, a nonprofit founded to promote the sister city alliance between San Antonio and Chennai, India, which was signed in 2008. 

Tea light candle diyas glow in the Springs at Civic Park during the Diwali SA festival at Hemisfair. Credit: Brenda Bazán / San Antonio Report
A light sculpture of an elephant, a symbol of luck and prosperity in India, adorns Hemisfair during the Diwali SA festival. Credit: Brenda Bazán / San Antonio Report
Dancers perform a Chari dance, from India’s Rajasthan state, at the Diwali SA festival in Hemisfair’s Civic Park. Credit: Brenda Bazán / San Antonio Report
A rangoli displayed in Civic Park by the India Association of San Antonio pays homage to the Chandrayaan 3, an Indian space mission that landed on the moon in August. Credit: Brenda Bazán / San Antonio Report
An India Bazaar vendor smiles during the Diwali SA festival in Civic Park. Credit: Brenda Bazán / San Antonio Report
Festivalgoers snap photos of people walking on stilts during Diwali SA at Hemisfair. Credit: Brenda Bazán / San Antonio Report
Hemisfair received thousands of visitors during the Diwali SA festival. Credit: Brenda Bazán / San Antonio Report

Brenda Bazán was a photojournalist at the San Antonio Report from 2023 to 2025.