A Diwali mela is one of the biggest days on a community association’s calendar. Stalls, food, performances, a kids’ corner, diya lighting, and fireworks all have to come together on one day, and the flyer is often the first thing people see about it. This US Letter flyer is designed to do two jobs at once: look like a festival from across a car park, and answer every practical question once someone walks up to read it.
What the Flyer Shows at First Glance
The top third is a vivid magenta band with a scalloped bottom edge. Two orange star lanterns (kandils) hang from the top corners with their paper streamers. Between them, COMMUNITY FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS runs in small pink capitals, then DIWALI is set huge in golden yellow Rozha One, a bold Devanagari-compatible display face, with MELA 2026 below in white widely spaced capitals and a line in Lora italic: A day of lights, food, music, shopping and fireworks.
From ten metres away, that band is what people see. It says Diwali, it says festival, and the year tells them it is current.
What Readers Find Up Close
Below the band, on a warm cream background, the date and hours stand out in bold maroon capitals: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 11 AM TO 9 PM, with the venue underneath. The lower half is split into two columns.
- Left: the day’s schedule: A real editable table with Time and Event columns lists eight entries from the opening puja at 11 AM to the fireworks show at 8:30 PM.
- Right: three feature tiles: White rounded cards highlight Street Food (with a thali of laddoos), Bazaar (with a teal lantern), and Kids Zone (with a pink kandil), each with a short description.
A maroon footer band carries the entry price in large gold capitals, ENTRY $5, CHILDREN UNDER 12 FREE, plus the hosting organisation and website, and the Office Templates Online mark.
Volunteer Roles to Plan Before Printing
A flyer is only as accurate as the plan behind it. Before you finalise the schedule and tiles, make sure each part of the day has an owner. Here is a typical set of mela roles.
| Role | Responsibilities | Volunteers needed |
|---|---|---|
| Event lead | Permits, venue, insurance, overall timeline | 1 |
| Stall coordinator | Vendor applications, stall map, setup times | 2 |
| Stage manager | Performance order, sound checks, compere | 2 |
| Kids zone lead | Crafts, face painting, supervision rota | 4 to 6 |
| Safety lead | First aid, fireworks contractor, crowd flow, lost children point | 3 |
| Entry and tickets | Cash and card payments, wristbands, headcount | 4 |
| Publicity | Flyers, social posts, local press, temple and school notices | 2 |
Updating the Mela Schedule Table
Double-click the schedule, or choose Edit Table Data, to type your own times and events. Use + Row to add more items if your programme is longer, and keep event names short so each fits on one line. If your mela runs across two days, add a third column called Day, or make a second page with Add Page for the Sunday programme. Remember that editor tables hold plain text, so if timings change, update them by hand and check that the list still runs in order.
Editing the Feature Tiles
Each tile has a heading in magenta capitals and a two-line description. Click to change STREET FOOD to FOOD COURT, or BAZAAR to MARKET, and rewrite the description with your highlights. The small illustrations are editable vectors; you can recolour them, swap them for icons from the Elements panel, or delete one tile and enlarge the others if you only have two highlights. Popular alternatives include Henna Corner, Rangoli Contest, Cultural Stage, Raffle Prizes, and Free Parking.
Choosing the Mela Date
Diwali falls on Sunday, November 8, 2026. Community melas usually happen on a weekend close to the festival, often the Saturday before, as in the sample, or one or two weekends earlier so families can shop for Diwali at the bazaar. If you hold it after Diwali, call it a Diwali Utsav or Diwali Celebration rather than a pre-Diwali mela.
Printing and Handing Out the Mela Flyer
Download the flyer as a PDF and print it at US Letter size. For community notice boards and shop windows, a laser print on 120 gsm paper is enough. For posters, a copy shop can enlarge the PDF to 11 x 17 or 18 x 24 inches without losing sharpness, because the text and art are vector. Places worth covering: temples and gurdwaras, Indian grocery stores, sweet shops, restaurants, libraries, schools with diverse communities, community centres and university notice boards.
The magenta band uses a lot of ink, so for large home print runs, consider printing at a copy shop. Ask for a proof first to check that the magenta has not shifted toward red.
Sharing the Flyer Online
Download a PNG and post it to your association’s social pages, community WhatsApp groups, local event listing websites, and newsletters. A US Letter flyer is portrait, which suits Facebook and Instagram feeds; Instagram will crop it to 4:5, so check that the top title remains visible. Include the date, venue, and price in the post text as well, so people can find the details by search.
Mela Flyer Questions
Can I add sponsor logos?
The cream space above the footer can hold a row of small sponsor logos. Add shapes from the Elements panel and use Replace Image on each, keeping them evenly spaced.
Can I add a QR code for tickets?
Yes. Use the editor’s QR tool to create a code linking to your ticket page and place it in the footer or beside the date. Keep it at least an inch wide when printed.
Can I change it to A4?
The design is US Letter. For A4 regions, printing the PDF with fit-to-page works with slightly larger margins, or you can copy the elements onto an A4 canvas.
Is the price required?
No. Replace it with FREE ENTRY or ALL WELCOME if your mela has no ticket.
Bring the Whole Community Together
Fill in the schedule, update the tiles, and print the first batch. A clear, colourful flyer brings families through the gate, and once they are there, the lights, food and music will do the rest.
