Inside Mosaic: Diwali celebrations, an honor for Newark’s Queen, and our latest food find - nj.com

From Left, Arpipha Nair, Pooranee Thanjavur Ramesh, and Nishitha Reddy Yerva, from North Brunswick, practice their dancing during the Saraswati Cultural Association's Diwali celebration at the East Brunswick Community Center on Saturday, October 15, 2022.John J. LaRosa | For NJ Advance

Mosaic is NJ.com’s news site dedicated to serving New Jersey’s diverse and underrepresented communities.

Welcome to this week’s newsletter! Discover places to celebrate Diwali, explore a new food find, and join us in recognizing a Queen who received an impressive honor.

Diwali, also known as “The Festival of Lights,” is an annual five-day festival focusing on the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. Trending reporter Vashti Harris scoped out some upcoming events.

In her story, “Diwali is almost here. Check out these 7 upcoming N.J. events,” she tells us where to celebrate the holiday with dance performances, painting competitions, a Diya lighting ceremony and a lot of food!

Vashti also brought us news of Newark’s very own Queen Latifah, who President Joe Biden recently presented The National Medal of Arts — the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the federal government. Born Dana Elaine Owens in Newark, Queen Latifah rose to stardom after releasing her debut 1989 album “All Hail the Queen.” She was 19. Today, she stars in the “Equalizer” and promotes community programs with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.

Columnist Karim Shamsi-Basha found another place to dine on a dime in his column, “Affordable Eats: This N.J. restaurant features the best of Thai cuisine.” In it, he introduces us to Aroy-D The Thai Elephant in Verona and its tasty Thai dishes, but ends with a surprise dessert. He said, “You can’t leave without indulging in Thai ice cream. I tried the pink elephant in honor of the restaurant. It had a vanilla base with graham crackers, strawberries and whipped cream.”

Well, folks, that’s all for this week. I’m off to eat some Thai ice cream. Stay tuned for more interesting stories from Mosaic and NJ.com.

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Newark Science Park High School senior Ashley Lourenco and her debate coach Jonathan Alston. She won the Lincoln-Douglas Debate category in the prestigious New York City Invitational Debate and Speech Tournament held Oct. 17-19 at the Bronx High School of Science.Newark Public Schools

Executive Director Hasnaa Mokhtar, center, with Program Manager Elian Mustafa, left, and Legal Department supervisor Jasmine Elatab, at Wafa House in Clifton, New Jersey, on Oct. 14, 2024.Karim Shamsi-Basha

The mortality rate for Black women diagnosed with breast cancer is higher, and one contributing factor is the presence of other health conditions, such as high blood pressure or diabetes.Ande Richards

Radio station AM 1070 WKMB, which serves a primarily African American audience, has not seen any advertising dollars from either party for the general election.Illustration Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media