Autumn Light Festival

Diwali is often described as the festival of lights, but at its heart it is also about community. It is a time when families, friends and neighbours come together to celebrate, share traditions, and strengthen the bonds that connect them. That spirit of connection makes the recent Autumn Light Festival a fitting place to begin our Community Roots series.

For the rest of this year, we'll be sharing stories from projects supported through our Community Roots grants, highlighting how local people are helping communities across Milton Keynes put down new roots, build relationships and create a stronger sense of belonging.

One such project is Autumn Lights Festival in Broughton, organised by Mindfulness Inspired Art Community Interest Company. Supported by a £1,000 Community Roots grant, the festival brought around 180 people together to celebrate creativity and culture. We spoke to organiser Bhavika Garg about the inspiration behind the event.

Why was Autumn Lights important to you?

"For me, Autumn Lights has always been about much more than celebrating Diwali. It's about creating opportunities for people from different backgrounds, cultures and generations to come together, connect and feel a sense of belonging."

Bhavika explained that, in a diverse city like Milton Keynes, people can often live alongside one another without many opportunities to mix outside their usual circles.

"I strongly believe that all it takes is one inclusive, diverse event to make someone feel more connected to the place they call home."

Why was it important that the festival was open to everyone?

"Coming from a South Asian background myself, I understand how important it is to have opportunities to celebrate your culture, share traditions, and feel represented. But I also believe cultural celebrations become even more meaningful when everyone is invited to be part of them."

That thinking shaped everything from the activities on offer to the name itself.

"I didn't want Autumn Lights to be an event exclusively for one cultural group. I wanted it to be a celebration where everyone, regardless of their background, age, faith, or circumstances, could feel comfortable participating."

What was your favourite moment from the day?

"There were so many lovely moments, but what stays with me most is seeing families and people from different backgrounds participating together, enjoying the activities, dancing to Garba beats, young people creating art, and having conversations with people they had never met before."

Bhavika particularly loved seeing people take part in the creative activities and Garba [the traditional Gujarati dance] workshop.

"It was wonderful to see everyone contributing something of themselves and becoming part of a shared experience."

What difference did the Community Roots grant make?

As a grassroots social enterprise, funding can be one of the biggest challenges when organising community events.

"This grant helped us hire this large indoor venue, Silver Lotus Milton Keynes, that we would otherwise have not been able to hire due to the hiring costs."

More importantly, Bhavika says the funding helped create "more opportunities for families to participate, explore different cultures, and connect through shared experiences."

“We're incredibly grateful to Milton Keynes Community Foundation for believing in our vision and investing in a grassroots initiative that brings people together.”

What impact did the event have?

The festival's success could be seen not just in the attendance figures, but in the feedback gathered afterwards.

One attendee described "a warm, welcoming and festive atmosphere" with activities that were "thoughtfully planned for both kids and adults". Another reflected on the "joyful people coming together with a wonderful sense of shared community experience".

Others highlighted the event's inclusive spirit, with one respondent praising "people from different backgrounds and communities coming together to celebrate", while another simply summed up the atmosphere as a "warm and hopeful community".

What do free community events bring to Milton Keynes?

Bhavika is passionate about making community events accessible to everyone.

"Free and low-cost in-person events are incredibly important, particularly when families are experiencing financial pressures and people are increasingly spending time in isolation. They remove financial barriers and give people opportunities they might not otherwise have. They create safe, welcoming spaces where children can explore their creativity, parents can connect with other families, older residents can socialise and people from different backgrounds can come together."

For Bhavika, the magic often lies in the small moments that happen when people share a space together.

"A conversation, a shared activity, a smile or simply feeling part of something can make a real difference to someone's day."

Ultimately, she hopes events like Autumn Lights help people feel more connected to their communities.

"If someone goes home feeling happier, having met someone new or feeling a little more connected to their community, then we've achieved something meaningful."

This is the first of our Community Roots stories. Over the coming weeks, we’ll share more from people across Milton Keynes who are helping their neighbours feel at home.

If you know a group that could use a grant, we’d love to hear from you.