ISKCON Naperville Diwali and Govardhan Puja 2026

ISKCON Naperville is celebrating Diwali and Govardhan Puja on Sunday, November 8, 2026, at Sri Sri Radha Shyamasundara Temple, 1505 McDowell Road. The temple says Govardhan Puja falls on Monday, November 9, by the lunar calendar, and that this community will mark it on Sunday.

If you are bringing food to offer, drop it off at 3:30 p.m. The offering to Giri Govardhan, the hill Krishna lifts in the story this festival tells, is at 4:30. A talk follows at 5:00. Arati, and then a walk around the offering, is at 5:45. Prasadam, the shared meal, is at 6:30. At 7:30 there is Damodar aarti and a ghee-lamp offering. Fireworks are listed at the same time and marked tentative.

On an ordinary Sunday the feast starts at 5:00, and the altar is closed from 1:00 to 4:00. The visit page says festival days move those hours, so 3:30 is the right arrival if you have a dish. That page also says there is no charge to come in, shoes come off at the door, and modest, comfortable clothes are appreciated. There is no dress code. The festival card adds sponsorship amounts for the meal, the decorations, and the lamps. Those are donations. Coming in is free.

The homepage sweet shop still says Diwali pre-orders close November 12, "ahead of Diwali on Nov 14." The festival page, which is the one with the hours, says November 8. Come on Sunday. Use the shop note only if you are ordering sweets.

At the temple, Govardhan Puja looks like a hill of food, a walk around it, and lamps at the end. They are marking that and Diwali on Sunday, a day before the lunar date they printed.

Kalapriya is the day before, Saturday, November 7, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., at Chicago Women’s Park in the South Loop. Adults are $10. That is the city afternoon. Sunday is Naperville. Aurora’s celebration at Metea Valley High School was October 24, so the high-school crowd still has this evening ahead. The temple is on McDowell Road by Illinois Route 59 and the Route 59 Metra station, on the north side of town. The homepage says parking is on site.

Navy Pier lists Día de los Muertos on November 1. A Diwali mela is not on the pier’s calendar. If a directory still shows one, the hours for this Sunday are on the temple’s festival page.

Our take: 3:30 if you are carrying food, 4:30 if you want to see the offering placed. Stay for the lamps at 7:30, and treat fireworks as a maybe. The phone on the visit page is (630) 608-0209.

When: November 8, 2026, from 3:30 p.m. (offering at 4:30; no charge on the visit page)
Where: ISKCON Naperville, 1505 McDowell Road, Naperville, IL 60563