Get ready for SF's first official Diwali celebration

Driving the news: The city's inaugural Diwali event, will be held from 5-10pm Friday along Battery and Clay streets.

• It will feature the popular Bhangra & Beats Night Market, which will showcase an array of over 30 South Asian vendors, artisans and flavors from across the region.
• There will be music rooted in Indian traditions from Non Stop Bhangra, a collective that highlights the ancestral roots of Punjabi folk music and dance through the tradition of Bhangra, as well as special guest artists.
• Attendees will be able to participate in a Bhangra dance lesson, learn to tie saris, watch a jazz street procession and try their hand at glow-in-the-dark hula hooping.

State of play: The Bhangra & Beats Night Market series brought more than 34,000 people to the Financial District over the course of three events this year, according to the mayor's office.

• It was spearheaded through a partnership between Non Stop Bhangra and cultural production studio Into the Streets.
• The Diwali celebration will mark Non Stop's 20th anniversary.

The big picture: South Asian people are one of the fastest-growing demographics in the country. The Indian American population alone more than doubled in San Francisco from 2010 to 2020, census data shows.