Local residents gathered at Paris Fairgrounds to celebrate Navratri Garba Night on Saturday, October 11, 2026.
Over 350 people, ranging from local residents to those from nearby regions, attended the event, making the largest turnout for the fourth annual Navratri Garba Night. According to Bhavik Sutaria, owner of High on Events, the organizers of the Garba Night event.
Navaratri, which literally translates to nine nights, is a nine-night Hindu festival that is especially significant for Gujarati communities, according to Sutaria. It honours the goddess Amba and her nine incarnations, and the nights are devoted to worship and the traditional Gujarati folk dance known as garba.
Attendees offered prayers to the goddess and danced in circles at the event. The circular motion is meant to depict the cycle of life. Attendees wore traditional clothing at the event and enjoyed music and food.
Sutaria mentioned the ticket cost $11, and they were able to keep the price low as the local Brantford restaurant Rangoli has been sponsoring the event since it started in 2022. This has helped them use ticket proceeds to give away prizes to attendees and children.
Sutaria added that the festival is celebrated for over nine nights in India, but in Paris, the event is held for only one night. He said the seasons in Canada limit when the community can hold festivals, and winter prevents celebrations such as Uttarayan, the kite festival. He added that the colourful clothing at Navratri stands out in a country where the landscape loses its colour, and sunlight is scarce for months.
“Whenever we get a chance, we make it special,” said Sutaria, “and it’s special for us as well. It brings the community together.”
“The Gujarati community has been ever-growing, especially in a town like Paris, where we don’t see that many Indian festivals being celebrated,” said Sutaria. “We started this small garba festival in Paris as a means for all the Gujarati community to gather and celebrate our festival.”
After moving to Paris, Sutaria invited members of a local Gujarati WhatsApp group to his home to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi.
“Many people actually came,” said Sutaria. “That’s when we got to know that there are so many Gujarati people here, and we can celebrate all our festivals.”
About 200 to 250 people attended the first garba night in 2022, and attendance has grown each year since.
“These are small community events where it feels like home,” said Sutaria. “People come with their kids, with their families.”
