Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh set Pelita Deepavali 2026 for Saturday, 31 October, from 10.00am at Lorong Seni @ Lorong Panglima. The Bahasa Malaysia notice, posted 6 October, lists handicraft sales, cultural sets by Gema Warisan Budaya MBI and Jabatan Kebudayaan dan Kesenian Negara Perak, and a kolam drawing contest for ages 13 to 18 under the theme Warnai Kreativiti, Serlahkan Tradisi. The English page on the same portal titles it Deepavali Lamps 2026 and repeats the date, hour, and lane. Entry is free. Kolam slots are limited. Scan the QR on the official poster to enter.
What MBI put on the poster
The programme is a Saturday morning on the arts lane, not a ticketed hall show. Craft tables sit with the usual mural walls. Gema Warisan Budaya is MBI's own cultural troupe. JKKN Perak is the federal culture office in the state. They already share this lane on civic days. Ipoh Echo covered City Day @ Lorong Seni on 17 May 2026, the 38th anniversary of city status, with the same pairing: handicraft sales plus Gema Warisan and JKKN Perak on Lorong Panglima. Pelita Deepavali reuses that format for the festival of lights.
Kolam is the rice-flour floor drawing. MBI opened it only to ages 13 to 18. The English line is Colour Creativity, Showcase Tradition. The form lives on the poster QR, not as a separate URL on the notice. If the QR fails on the day, ask the MBI table on the lane rather than inventing a link. Participation is free and capped. Walk-up viewing of the finished kolam does not need a form.
Saturday hours, and the Deepavali hawker window
Lorong Seni is not a daily market. On 1 July 2026 MBI posted new operating hours: every Saturday, 10.00am to 4.00pm. That replaced the 31 December 2025 notice that kept 2026 Saturdays at 8.00am to 1.00pm. Pelita Deepavali starts at 10.00am, which matches the later window. Plan to be on the lane from 10.00. Do not arrive at 8.00 expecting the old craft hours.
A second MBI notice on 6 October opened applications for temporary tent and hawker permits for Deepavali 2026. That is a licensing window for traders, not the Pelita programme itself. It confirms the council is treating Deepavali as a city-centre trading season, with tents and temporary stalls under permit. The Pelita page does not print stall prices or a closing time beyond the Saturday start. Bring cash for craft. Treat 4.00pm as the ordinary Saturday close unless staff say otherwise on the day.
Where the lane sits in Old Town
Lorong Panglima is the Old Town grid west of Sungai Kinta, a short walk from Ipoh Railway Station. Chinese maps still send first-timers to Concubine Lane, 二奶巷, on the same Panglima block. MBI files Concubine Lane as a perniagaan street and Lorong Seni as the Saturday arts operation on Lorong Panglima. Locals use both names. Tourists photograph lanterns. The Saturday tables are for craft, buskers, and festival add-ons such as this Deepavali morning.
Come from the station on foot. Grab drop-off on Jalan Panglima is tighter once the lane fills. Pair it with a kopitiam breakfast nearby, then leave before noon if you also want Memory Lane on a Sunday. This is not a mall atrium. It is the civic leftover on the arts lane while Dou Mu Gong's Nine Emperor Gods rites run through 19 October and Kek Lok Tong sits open again at Gunung Rapat.
Practical details
Date. Saturday, 31 October 2026.
Time. From 10.00am. Ordinary Lorong Seni Saturdays now run 10.00am to 4.00pm.
Venue. Lorong Seni @ Lorong Panglima, Ipoh Old Town.
Tickets. Free. Kolam contest for ages 13 to 18 is free and limited. Scan the QR on the MBI poster.
What is on. Handicraft sales. Cultural performances by Gema Warisan Budaya MBI and JKKN Perak. Kolam drawing, theme Warnai Kreativiti, Serlahkan Tradisi.
Transit. Walk from Ipoh Railway Station. Old Town, west of Sungai Kinta. Parking on the Panglima grid fills after 10.00am.
Council. MBI switchboard 05-208 3333. Notices at mbi.gov.my/pusat-media/pengumuman/pelita-deepavali-2026 and the English Deepavali Lamps 2026 page.
Related. Temporary tent and hawker permits for Deepavali 2026, MBI notice 6 October. Saturday hours notice, 1 July 2026.
