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Our youngest visitors can celebrate the Festival of Lights with simple, hands-on crafts. Decorate a paper diya with stickers and colors, and create a bright rangoli pattern made just for little hands. Recommended for ages 2–5. This program is part of our 2026 Diwali celebration. Learn more about the festival here.   Image: Courtesy of

On Diwali, families across India decorate their doorways with rangoli, bright, colorful designs made from colored powders, rice, and flower petals to welcome guests and good fortune. Choose from a variety of traditional rangoli patterns, including flowers, lotuses, peacocks, and diyas, and bring them to life with color. Take home your own rangoli coaster or

Join Emmy Award–winning production designer Bob Shaw and set decorator Jenny Alex Nickason for a conversation about their work together on HBO’s The Gilded Age, which features the HRM’s historic home, Glenview, as the home of Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy). Shaw and Nickason will discuss their creative process, including how they prioritize historical accuracy while

The sari, a single length of fabric around six yards long, has been worn across South Asia for thousands of years. Learn one of the more than 80 recorded ways to drape it with help from our draping team, then strike a pose at our festive photo booth dressed in these beautiful garments. Recommended for

The name “Diwali” comes from the word “deepavali,” meaning “row of lights.” During the festival, families fill their homes with diyas, small clay lamps that celebrate the triumph of light over darkness. Decorate your own diya with bright colors, sparkles, and gems. Recommended for ages 5+. This program is part of our 2026 Diwali celebration.

For centuries, families across South Asia have celebrated special occasions by decorating their hands with mehndi, or henna, a natural plant-based dye. Its swirling flowers, vines, and paisleys stand for joy and good fortune. Watch skilled henna artists at work, then receive a small design of your own. Recommended for ages 6+. This program is

Enjoy an engaging program of live music and cultural discovery with renowned sarod artist Satyaki Dutta and tabla artist Ranendra Das, who will bring the beauty, rhythm, and energy of traditional Indian music to audiences of all ages in the West Wing Galleries. Satyaki Dutta is a distinguished sarod artist who represents the prominent instrumental

Enjoy a performance by Liza Joseph, Director of Natyamudra School of Dance in Westchester, and her students, who will present a selection of pieces from the Bharatanatyam repertoire. Following the performance, learn and experience some of the basic movements, hand gestures, and facial expressions in an interactive demonstration. Originating in southern India and accompanied by

Kathak, one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance, originated with the traveling bards of northern India known as kathakaars, or storytellers. Accompanied by Hindustani classical music, it focuses on fast, intricate, and rhythmic footwork by dancers wearing heavy ankle bells, or ghungroos. Enjoy four choreographed pieces performed by dancers from the Sumbhaav

Experience the joy, color, and energy that make Diwali one of India’s most joyful festivals with a Bollywood dance experience presented by the Sonalee Vyas Dance Company. The program begins with a 20-minute vibrant Bollywood-style performance, featuring festive music, colorful movement, and dynamic choreography. Following the performance, the celebration becomes interactive! Audience members are invited