Deepavali with Kids in Singapore 2026: Lights, Workshops and What Is Free

13 October 2026 · 11 min read

Deepavali is on Sunday 8 November. Take the children to Little India on the day itself and you will miss most of what was organised for them.

LISHA's lamp, spice and diya workshops are all over by 31 October. The Indian Heritage Centre's open house ends on the 8th, and the centre is shut on Monday 9 November, the holiday. Esplanade's Indian arts festival does not start until 20 November. For Deepavali with kids in Singapore, the weekends to plan around are 24 and 25 October, and 31 October and 1 November.

We checked everything below on the organiser's own page or booking system on 12 October 2026: LISHA, the Indian Heritage Centre, the Istana, onePA, NLB, Esplanade and the museums. Dates, times, prices and ages are as published. Where an organiser gives no age, the card says so rather than guessing.

DatesWhat Deepavali isLittle IndiaWorkshopsIndian Heritage CentreIstanaEsplanadeLibraries and museumsBy ageGetting there and what is free

The Deepavali 2026 Dates That Matter

The Ministry of Manpower lists Deepavali on Sunday 8 November 2026, with Monday 9 November a public holiday for anyone whose rest day falls on the Sunday. MOE's 2026 calendar makes Monday 9 November a public holiday for schools, so children get a three-day weekend from Saturday 7 November.

What Deepavali Is, and What Your Child Will See

Deepavali is a Hindu festival of lights. LISHA, the Little India shopkeepers' association that runs the celebrations there, describes it as the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil, and says the name comes from the Sanskrit for "a row of lights". In the telling LISHA gives, it marks Lord Rama's homecoming after defeating Ravana. Families clean and decorate their homes, exchange gifts and cook festive meals.

What a child will notice:

• Lamps. Small clay oil lamps, called diyas, are lit at home. The Indian Heritage Centre notes that families mark the festival with lights, mango leaves and rangoli.
• Rangoli, or kolam. Patterns drawn on the ground at the entrance of a home. Roots, the National Heritage Board's site, says rangoli means "an array of colours" in Sanskrit, is called kolam in Tamil and is drawn in rice flour, sometimes coloured with turmeric, petals or grains.
• Sweets and snacks. The IHC names laddu, milk barfi and murukku. Little India's many mithai (Indian sweet) shops inspired one of its open house crafts this year.
• Street lights. LISHA's light-up runs over 2km of Serangoon Road.

If you want to explain it before you go, the IHC's free downloadable activity kits include a pre-school kit, a primary school kit, an oil lamp craft and rangoli templates.

In Little India: the Lights, the Festival Village and the Bus

LISHA (the Little India Shop Owners and Heritage Association) runs the official programme on deepavali.sg. Apart from the bus tour, everything here is within a few streets of Little India MRT.

Several community clubs also run evening coach trips to the lights. On 12 October onePA listed trips on 24 October from Sembawang CC, Woodlands Galaxy CC, Tampines Changkat and Rivervale CC, at $3 to $5. Search onePA for "Deepavali" to find one near you.

Hands-On Workshops: Lamps, Rangoli, Henna and Spices

These are the Deepavali workshops we could find with a date, a time and a price shown without logging in. Most organisers publish no minimum age; the cards say where one is given. LISHA's sessions take 20 to 30 people each, so book early.

The rest of onePA's 118 Deepavali listings on 12 October were mostly residents' celebrations on 14, 15 and 21 November with dinner and performances, listed from free to $20, many open only to residents of the precinct. Hong Kah North CC's Deepavali cooking demonstration on 24 October is for 15 and up. We found no lamp-painting session at a community club open to the public.

Indian Heritage Centre: the Deepavali Open House

Saturday evenings are the best fit for families who also want the lights. On 17, 24 and 31 October a dance programme by AKT and Gayathri Dance Academy runs from 6pm to 7pm, and a free English gallery tour starts in the lobby at 7pm every Saturday, with no registration. Live performances along Campbell Lane run from 11am to 6pm every weekend to 1 November.

One oddity: the IHC also lists a children's activities corner, 10am to 5pm, but marks its craft activities as weekdays only, while the mithai box and brooch painting run on weekends and Deepavali children's booklets are handed out every weekend. Ask at the front desk what is running that day. The IHC is closed every Monday, including Monday 9 November.

Istana Open House, Sunday 1 November

On 12 October the Istana had not yet called this a Deepavali open house; last year its Deepavali open house announcement came out on 31 October. The Istana's FAQ says every visitor must show identification at the gate. Knives, scissors, lighters, aerosols, tripods and canned drinks are not allowed, there is no storage, and all payments are cashless. Lightning can suspend the open house.

Esplanade: Kalaa Utsavam, Two Weeks After Deepavali

Esplanade's Indian arts festival, Kalaa Utsavam, runs from 20 to 29 November, its 25th edition. That is after Deepavali, over the first two weekends of the year end holidays. Three programmes suit children, all with a minimum age of 6.

Libraries and Museums

NLB has nothing for Deepavali this year, so far. A search of NLB's events calendar on 12 October for Deepavali, Diwali and rangoli returned no events. Its free monthly Tamil storytelling, which is not Deepavali-themed, continues: Punggol Library on Sunday 25 October at 2pm, Geylang East Library on Wednesday 28 October at 7pm for ages 4 to 10, and Vidhaigal for ages 1 to 6 at the National Library Building on Saturday 31 October, at 2pm and 3pm.

The museums leave Deepavali to the IHC. The Asian Civilisations Museum, the National Museum and the Children's Museum list no Deepavali programme this year. The IHC, also run by the National Heritage Board, is where the Deepavali programme is.

Classes on Jungle if the Dancing Sticks

Children who enjoyed the dancing at the IHC or Esplanade can keep going. None of these schools runs a Deepavali workshop this year; they teach Indian dance all year.

Browse more kids' dance classes on Jungle.

What to Book at Each Age

Under 6. Keep it short and early. The lights from 7pm, the IHC's mithai box on a weekend afternoon, and NLB's Tamil storytelling for 1 to 6-year-olds on 31 October. The Cheng San colouring contest takes 4-year-olds. All three Esplanade programmes start at age 6.

Ages 6 to 11. The widest choice. LISHA's free clay diya painting on 31 October, the Compassvale rangoli workshop on 24 October (with an adult if 10 or under), the IHC's crafts, the Istana storytelling on 1 November, and Esplanade's three family programmes in late November.

Ages 12 and up. The Sengkang rangoli team challenge sets 12 as its minimum. Brass lamp engraving and spice blending suit a child who can sit through two or three hours. At 15 and 16, the IHC's paid miniature painting and cooking demos open up.

Getting There, Crowds and What Is Free

Getting there. The details come from the Indian Heritage Centre's visitor page and the Istana's FAQ.

• MRT: Little India station, Exit E, for the IHC and Campbell Lane.
• Bus: stop 07031 in front of Tekka Centre (23, 64, 65, 66, 67, 131, 139, 147, 857) and stop 07539 on Sungei Road (48, 56, 57, 131, 166, 170, 640, 960, 980).
• By car: the nearest drop-off is Clive Street. Parking is in the basement of Tekka Centre, on Upper Dickson Road and in street lots.
• Istana: walk in through the main gate on Orchard Road, under five minutes from Dhoby Ghaut MRT. There is no drop-off point.

Crowd timing. Every scheduled extra in Little India this season falls on a Saturday: the workshops, the free music, most bus tours and the IHC's late opening. Weekday evenings have the lights and the festival village without them, so go then if you want space.

On a Saturday, arrive by 5pm, spend the late afternoon in the IHC, watch the 6pm dance programme on 17, 24 or 31 October, and walk out to the lights at 7pm. The IHC also shows live crowd levels on its visitor page.

What is free.

• The light-up on Serangoon Road, every night from 7pm.
• The festival village on Campbell Lane, to 8 November. LISHA publishes no admission charge.
• LISHA's clay diya painting and Sangeetham music night, both on 17 and 31 October, with free registration.
• The IHC open house: entry, the mithai box, brooch painting, saree photobooth and money packets.
• The Istana grounds on 1 November, for citizens and PRs.
• NLB's Tamil storytelling, and the IHC's downloadable craft kits.
• The Former House of Tan Teng Niah on Kerbau Road, from the street. Roots says it was built in 1900 and is the last Chinese villa left in Little India; its owner ran sugarcane sweet factories along Serangoon Road.

To make a day of it, our guide to things to do with kids in Bugis, Bras Basah and Little India covers the rest of the area, and our City Square Mall guide covers its free playground.

How We Checked These

Every item was checked on 12 October 2026 on the organiser's own website or booking system: LISHA's deepavali.sg and its ticketing site, the Indian Heritage Centre, the Istana, onePA, NLB's events calendar, Esplanade, the Asian Civilisations Museum, the National Museum and the Children's Museum. Public holiday dates come from the Ministry of Manpower and MOE.

We left out events whose organiser we could not find, sessions open only to one estate's residents, and onePA prices shown only after login. Where an organiser's own pages disagree, the card says so.

Browse all Deepavali activities on Jungle, or public holiday activities for Monday 9 November.