Chhath Puja 2026 in Renton: Events, Puja & Where to Celebrate

TL;DR

• Chhath Puja 2026 falls on November 15 (Sandhya Arghya) and November 16 (Usha Arghya), with Seattle-area sunset around 4:34 PM and sunrise around 7:17 AM Pacific Time.
• Renton is in the Seattle metro area and has a growing Indian community with established temples, a Sikh gurdwara, and Indian restaurants. 🌅
• Pabla Indian Cuisine at Renton Center Way is a kosher-certified Indian vegetarian restaurant and grocery open since 1998.
• Gurudwara Singh Sabha of Washington at Talbot Road in Renton is one of the largest gurdwaras in Washington state.
• The Hindu Temple and Cultural Center in Bothell organizes major Hindu festivals for the entire Seattle metro, including Navratri and Diwali programming. 🪔

For families with roots in Bihar, Jharkhand, and eastern Uttar Pradesh, Chhath Puja is not one festival among many. It is the most sacred observance of the year — four intense days of fasting, prayer, and offerings to the sun god Surya and his consort Usha. In Renton and the broader south Seattle metro area, the Indian diaspora has built enough community infrastructure to observe these traditions meaningfully, even thousands of miles from the Ganga.

This guide covers everything the Indian community in Renton needs to know about Chhath Puja 2026, the full fall festival season, and where to find temples, restaurants, and groceries.

Chhath Puja 2026: Dates, Rituals, and Timing

The 2026 Chhath Puja observance spans four days:

Day 1 — Nahay Khay (November 13): Ritual bathing and a single meal. Devotees cook rice and lauki (bottle gourd) in freshly prepared water.

Day 2 — Kharna/Lohanda (November 14): A complete fast observed through the day, broken only after sunset with offerings of rice cooked with jaggery, known as kheer prasad or rasiao-kheer.

Day 3 — Sandhya Arghya (November 15): The main evening ritual. Families carry offerings — sugarcane, fruits, thekua, and other prasad items — to a water body for sunset prayers. For the Seattle area, sunset Arghya falls around 4:34 PM Pacific Time.

Day 4 — Usha Arghya (November 16): Sunrise offerings mark the conclusion of the fast. For the Seattle area, sunrise is around 7:17 AM Pacific Time, calculated from Seattle's coordinates.

Families gather at lakeside or riverfront locations for the sunset and sunrise ceremonies. In previous years, the Bihari and Jharkhandi communities across Washington state have coordinated gatherings near water bodies in the greater Seattle area. For 2026 locations, check with local associations and Bihari community Facebook groups — formal announcements typically come in late October.

Insider Tip: Chhath Puja supplies — including sugarcane, suji, jaggery, specific fruits, and bamboo or metal soops for the prasad — should be sourced a week before the festival. Pabla Indian Cuisine's grocery section in Renton stocks many of these items, though for specialty ritual items, the South Asian grocery stores in the SeaTac-Tukwila corridor along I-405 carry a broader inventory.

The Full Fall Festival Season 🪔

Chhath Puja is the capstone of a remarkable run of Indian festivals through the fall. For Renton's Indian families, the season looks like this:

Navratri begins October 11 and runs for nine nights of prayer, garba, and dandiya, culminating in Dussehra on October 20. The Hindu Temple and Cultural Center in Bothell organizes Navratri programming for the Seattle metro area.

Karva Chauth falls on October 29. The day-long fast observed by married Hindu women is widely practiced across the Indian diaspora, with community gatherings and moonrise ceremonies organized through temples and community groups.

Dhanteras (November 6) marks the beginning of the Diwali cluster. Gold and silver purchases are traditional on this day.

Diwali arrives on November 8. The Hindu Temple and Cultural Center and community groups across the Seattle metro organize Diwali programming. Local Indian restaurants and groceries run special Diwali menus and gift box offerings in the two weeks before.

Pabla Indian Cuisine: Renton's Indian Institution

For reliable Desi food in Renton, Pabla Indian Cuisine at 364 Renton Center Way SW is the place to know. Opened in 1998, it is one of the first kosher-certified Indian vegetarian restaurants in the Pacific Northwest — a combination that made it a go-to destination for both Indian families and observant Jewish diners across the south Seattle corridor.

The restaurant serves a full menu of North Indian vegetarian dishes: biryanis, dal makhani, paneer preparations, and freshly baked breads. An attached grocery section stocks spices, frozen Indian staples, and freshly made sweets including ladoos, barfis, gulab jamuns, and rasgullas. For Chhath Puja and Diwali preparation, this grocery section makes it possible to source festival ingredients without a long drive.

Pabla also does large-format catering for community events — useful if your local group is organizing a Chhath Puja potluck, a Diwali gathering, or a cultural event in Renton or the surrounding area.

Gurudwara Singh Sabha of Washington

Renton is home to one of Washington state's most prominent Sikh institutions. Gurudwara Singh Sabha of Washington at 5200 Talbot Rd S, Renton, WA 98055 opened in 1993 and expanded to a building of approximately 23,000 square feet. The gurdwara draws Sikh families from across the south Seattle metro for weekly services, Gurpurabs, and community events throughout the year.

For Punjabi-heritage families in Renton, the gurdwara functions as a cultural center as much as a house of worship. The langar — the community meal served after services and open to all regardless of faith or background — is one of the most welcoming traditions in the Sikh tradition. For newcomers to the Renton area, attending a Sunday service and langar is one of the best ways to connect with the local Indian community.

The Hindu Temple and Cultural Center

For Hindu families in Renton observing festivals from Navratri through Diwali and beyond, the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center (HTCC) in Bothell is the primary destination. Located at 3818 212th St SE, Bothell, WA 98021, the temple serves the broader Seattle metropolitan area including Renton, Bellevue, and surrounding communities.

The temple performs daily nitya poojas and organizes major festival programming including nine-night Navratri celebrations, Diwali observances, and other seasonal events. It also offers private ceremony services for naming ceremonies, engagements, and weddings. The temple's website is htccwa.org.

For fall 2026, HTCC is listed among Seattle-area temples with a Navratri program. Confirm specific dates and event details directly with the temple, as programming details are typically announced a few weeks before each festival.

Planning Your Chhath Puja Community Coordination

Chhath Puja has no single centralized organizing body in the Seattle area the way Navratri does at HTCC. Instead, it is organized through community networks. The key steps for Renton-area families:

Find the local group: Search for Bihari or Jharkhandi community associations on Facebook and WhatsApp. These informal networks are where location details for the sunset and sunrise ceremonies are shared.

Source supplies early: Pabla Indian Cuisine's grocery, plus the broader south Seattle grocery corridor, should cover most needs. For sugarcane — which can be harder to find — call ahead to South Asian grocery stores in SeaTac and Tukwila.

Timing matters: The sunset ceremony on November 15 falls at 4:34 PM. Plan to arrive at your gathering location 30 to 45 minutes early to find parking and set up.

FAQ

Q: Where is Chhath Puja celebrated in Renton or the Seattle area in 2026? A: No single official event has been confirmed as of this writing. The Indian community organizes gatherings near water bodies, coordinated through Bihari and Jharkhandi community associations on social media. Check local community Facebook groups for confirmed locations as November approaches.

Q: What is Pabla Indian Cuisine best known for? A: Pabla is known for being a long-running kosher-certified vegetarian Indian restaurant, one of the first of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. It is also valued for its attached Indian grocery with sweets and spices.

Q: Does Renton have a Hindu temple? A: Renton does not have a Hindu temple within city limits. The nearest major Hindu temple is the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center in Bothell, which serves the entire Seattle metro area.

Q: What Navratri events happen near Renton in 2026? A: The Hindu Temple and Cultural Center in Bothell organizes a nine-night Navratri program starting October 11. Additional garba and dandiya events are organized by community groups across the Seattle metro. Check the temple's website and local Indian community groups for event listings.

Q: Are there Indian grocery stores in Renton beyond Pabla? A: Pabla Indian Cuisine's grocery section is the best-known Indian grocery in Renton. The broader south Seattle corridor, including SeaTac and Tukwila, has additional South Asian grocery options with larger inventory.

Bottom Line 🙏

Renton's Indian community has the infrastructure to celebrate the full arc of fall festivals — from Navratri through Chhath Puja. Pabla Indian Cuisine anchors daily Desi dining and ingredient sourcing. Gurudwara Singh Sabha of Washington grounds the Punjabi Sikh community on Talbot Road. And the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center in Bothell serves as the region's primary venue for Hindu observances from Navratri to Diwali. Chhath Puja itself will be observed on November 15–16 by families near water, with coordination happening through community networks in the weeks ahead.