Diwali falls on Sunday, November 8, in 2026. The public celebrations within reach of Cary Park will all be over more than a week before that. Three free events run across 17 days in October. Each is smaller than the last, and only the first ends with fireworks. The order follows from how crowded the local Diwali calendar has become. Morrisville's town staff said so directly when they explained this fall why their festival is shrinking.
For a household at Cary Park Lake, these are three different evenings with different logistics.
| Date | Event | Venue | Hours | Fireworks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 10 | Hum Sub Diwali 2026 | Koka Booth Amphitheatre, 8003 Regency Parkway | Gates at 9 a.m., finale at 9 p.m. | Yes |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Morrisville Diwali Festival | Morrisville Community Park, 1520 Morrisville Parkway | 5 to 8 p.m. | No |
| Mon., Oct. 26 | Downtown Cary Park Diwali Celebration | Great Lawn Pavilion, 327 S. Academy Street | 6:30 to 8 p.m. | Not listed |
October 10 Is the All-Day Anchor
Hum Sub Diwali is the largest of the three and the first on the calendar, and the other two are scheduled around it. Hum Sub, Inc. presents it with support from the Town of Cary and the United Arts Council. This year's theme is "Udaan Soaring High." The headliners are Vidya Vox and Rohith Jayaraman with a live band.
The organizer's schedule runs from morning to night:
- 9 a.m. Gates open.
- 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Daytime cultural performances.
- Noon. Formal inauguration with a lamp lighting and remarks from the Cary mayor and other guests.
- 5:30 to 6:40 p.m. Awards ceremony, including a theme music competition, Diwali essay awards, and a message from the governor.
- 7 to 9 p.m. Evening headline performance.
- 9 p.m. Grand fireworks finale.
The two official sources disagree on the end time. The Town of Cary's Diwali page lists 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Hum Sub's own page lists 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., with fireworks at 9. For planning the evening, the organizer's schedule is the one that includes the finale.
Admission is free. A reserved seat for the whole day comes with a Hum Sub membership. The price is $12 through October 6 and $15 from October 7, per person, per calendar year. The rest of the logistics reward planning ahead:
- Parking: $10 general, $20 preferred, and $10 accessible, all first-come, first-served and paid by card only. Some nearby businesses may also charge for parking in their lots.
- Cash: The amphitheatre is cashless and has no ATMs on site, though many vendors accept both cash and cards.
- Shuttle: A van-style courtesy shuttle stops in front of the office building at 9000 Regency Parkway.
- Bags: Bags must be 6 by 8 inches or smaller, or clear bags up to 12 by 12 by 9 inches. Umbrellas are not allowed, and everyone walks through metal detectors.
- Chairs: Select lawn chairs are allowed. Lounge, tri-fold, canopy, and footrest styles are not.
Booths, food vendors, and family activities run all day. Exhibition-booth demonstrations happen hourly until 5 p.m. For anyone driving over from Cary Park, it makes more sense to go for a block of the day than to go for an hour.
October 17 Is Smaller by Design
A week later, Morrisville holds its own festival, and the town has openly scaled it back. The News & Observer reported on September 10 that the October 17 event will have no fireworks and no drones. Town staff removed the fireworks after reviewing the 2025 event and cutting the special-events budget. Staff gave three reasons: relatively low attendance, difficulty finding a date that did not conflict with other local Diwali events, and a desire to scale the event down.
The second reason explains the whole month. Hum Sub takes a Saturday at Koka Booth, so a town festival needs a different weekend and a different format. Morrisville chose a three-hour evening with food trucks and local dance groups. Last year's roughly 10-minute fireworks show cost about $10,000, according to the same report. The mayor looked into a privately sponsored drone show. Council debated it for 48 minutes, took no formal vote, and reached consensus to leave the event as planned.
The festival is also at a new venue this year. The town's event page calls Morrisville Community Park the 2026 festival's "New location." The schedule:
- 5 p.m. DJ, diya and mandala decorating, henna, and glow sticks.
- 6 p.m. Welcome from the Morrisville Town Council.
- 6:15 to 8 p.m. Cultural performances by groups including Gurukrupa School of Dance, Tamil Parai Muzhakkam, Pavithra Dance School Teens, Bhangra by Harpreet's Team, Team Asha Group representing Asha Foundation, Uzhaven Kalai Kuzhu, and Gidda.
The food truck lineup is Annpurna Indian Delight, Bobasaur, Bruster's Ice Cream, Curry in a Hurry, and Tikka Masala.
Event parking is at Morrisville Elementary School, 1519 Morrisville Parkway. Police officers will help attendees cross between the school and the park, and accessible parking on site is limited. The town also asks people who live nearby to walk in on its greenway system. Admission is free.
October 26 Is a Weeknight Downtown
The last event is the shortest. The Town of Cary's Downtown Cary Park celebration runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Monday, October 26, at the Great Lawn Pavilion, 327 S. Academy Street. It's free and billed as an evening of music, dance, and community.
A 90-minute Monday program works well for families that skipped the all-day Saturday at Koka Booth. It's also the last public celebration on the local calendar, with Diwali itself still 13 days away.
The Lake Is Where Morrisville Parkway Begins
Cary Park's trail network leads toward the Morrisville Parkway corridor, where the October 17 festival takes place. The Cary Park Lake Greenway is a 1.9-mile loop that sits entirely inside the Cary Park subdivision and circles a lake in two sections, with Cary Glen Boulevard crossing between them. At Cary Glen Boulevard, it meets the 0.9-mile Southbridge Greenway. Heading south from there, the trail crosses a 35-foot timber bridge, then passes Lantern Ridge Lane and Powers Ferry Way before ending at the Morrisville Parkway Street-Side Trail near Futrell Drive. The street-side trail is nearly a mile long.
At the other end, the Hatcher Creek Greenway runs about 1.4 miles through Morrisville Community Park and connects east to the Crabtree Creek Greenway. The town sources don't confirm a continuous trail between these two systems or give a distance between them. For most people coming from Cary Park, the trip is a short drive with parking at Morrisville Elementary. The greenways are better for a walk before the 5 p.m. start. Our earlier post on life around the lake in Cary Park covers the loop in more detail.
Between the Last Event and November 8
After October 26, the celebrating moves home. The Town of Cary's Diwali page has guidance for that stretch. Keep diyas, candles, and other open flames away from curtains and decorations, and never leave them unattended. Set lamps on sturdy, heat-resistant surfaces out of reach of children and pets. Check string lights for fraying, and turn them off before bed or before leaving the house.
Here's the month in short: a full day with a headliner and fireworks on October 10, a three-hour evening with food trucks on October 17, and a 90-minute Monday on the Great Lawn on October 26. The holiday itself follows on Sunday, November 8.
At Karen Coe Realty Group, we follow the community calendar around Cary Park as closely as we follow its homes. If seasons like this one have you thinking about what your place near the lake is worth, we'd be glad to put a number on it. Request your home valuation, and we'll deliver it with the same local detail.
