On Oct. 3, the Quinlan Community Center will host a day of activities beginning at 11:30 a.m. with a community festival. The festival, sponsored by Western Union, will feature authentic Indian food and music, craft and henna booths, and a new feature this year--fortunetellers ranging from palm readers to astrologists.

"This is the most important Indian festival, and it's always a full day of fun and activities," says Mahesh Nihalani, chair of the event. "Diwali is the beginning of the new year in India, and for businesses, it's when they open their new books to keep. We celebrate as an auspicious beginning."

After the festival wraps up at 4:30, preparations for the dinner program at 5 p.m. will shift into high gear. Planned by Fine Arts Commissioner Hema Kundargi, the dinner will be carried out under an Indian wedding theme, complete with ceremonies and traditions that attending dignitaries will participate in by dressing in outfits from different Indian states--to demonstrate the diversity in India, says Nihalani.

"We have a young couple from Stanford--the man is Indian, and the woman is Caucasian," Nihalani says. "They're already married, but they never had an Indian wedding. We're going to conduct one for them."

Admission to the community festival is free. There are still tickets available for the dinner portion of the festivities at $35 for members of the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce and $40 for non-members. For information and reservations, call 408.252.7054. Quinlan Community Center is located at 10185 N. Stelling Road.

"Cupertino is such a diverse community, and we want to see everyone together and having fun," Nihalani says.