A FESTIVAL of light was celebrated in style for the first time in Chester.

A dinner and dance to celebrate Diwali was held at Chester City Football Club.

Diwali is the festival of light and is celebrated by Hindus to mark the return of Lord Rama from exile after having defeated the demon Ravana. It is also celebrated by Sikhs to mark the return of their sixth guru, Har Gobind Ji, after having freed 52 Hindu kings.

Event organiser Reetu Kohli, who recently moved to Chester from Manchester, was appalled to hear there was nothing planned in the city to celebrate Diwali so decided to organise a party.

The Cheshire Halton and Warrington Race and Equality Centre (CHAWREC ) gave her funding and with the help of community development worker Linda Lee-Parker she was able to get the event organised in just three weeks.

Guests attended in their finest traditional dress and were served traditional Indian cuisine from authentic copper serving dishes. The children were entertained by a magician, while the adults took to the dance floor for some Bollywood fast track tunes by DJ Daj and P from London.

Reetu said: “The evening’s highlight was an extravagant display of brilliantly colourful and scintillating fireworks by Chester Pyrotechnics which illuminated the Chester sky to symbolise Diwali.”

She added: “The guests danced into late hours of the night sweeping their silk saris across the dance floor. The people of Chester helped make the event an extraordinary success and a night to remember.”