In celebration of the famous Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, SPAR Oman recently organised two initiatives offering customers a stage to showcase their artistic and culinary skills. Shoppers had the option of entering two competitions: The Diwali Rangoli Artist of the Year Contest and the Diwali Sweet Making Competition. The interest in the Diwali themed competitions was huge - generating a host of delighted followers online and instore.

The Diwali festival of lights is one of the main holidays in Oman and in addition to attractive discounts on many products offered in SPAR stores over the three day period, SPAR Oman wanted to properly celebrate the festival with its customers.

In the run-up to Diwali SPAR Oman invited followers of its Facebook page to enter the two competitions. The Diwali Rangoli Artist of the Year contest drew a total of 40 participants. Rangoli is an art in which patterns are created on the floor using materials such as coloured rice & sand, dry flour, and flower petals. The participants were invited to SPAR Madinat Qaboos to create their own Rangoli artworks within a time slot of 45 minutes. SPAR Oman provided four basic colours and a tile of 60 x 60 cm each. Sushama Pandey, wife of the Indian Ambassador to Oman, Mr Indra Mani Pandey, was present during the event and presented the awards to the winners. The competition was streamed live on the SPAR Oman Facebook page and received over 1,500 views within just an hour. Thanking the participants, Mr Sridhar Moosapeta, CEO of SPAR Oman, said: “At SPAR Oman, we always look for opportunities to connect with our shoppers and this event is testimony of our efforts paying off.”

Another highlight was the Diwali Sweet Making Competition, organised for the second time. The competition drew 24 participants who were invited instore to display their innovative recipes. Real culinary artworks were created making it difficult for the jury to choose the winners. On presentation of SPAR branded gifts to all participants after the contest, Mr. Devendra Kumar, General Manager of SPAR Oman, said: “We consider all participants to be winners. We thank our customers for their continued support and participation in our events.”