On Location, AdventureCody TolmasoffComment

Celebrating Holi

On Location, AdventureCody TolmasoffComment
Celebrating Holi

A couple of years back, one of my colleagues mentioned she was going to a Holi celebration and invited us to come along. Initially, I was a little nervous about this, but I was quickly reassured that it was a really fun celebration. We just needed to wear clothes that were ok to get dirty, the lighter the color the better so that the color really stood out. 

Holi is a Hindu spring festival known at the “festival of colors” to signify the arrival of spring. It’s a day of rebirth, to play and laugh, forgive and forget, or repair broken relationships. A number of organizations here set up Holi events in schoolyards as fundraisers where they provide music and (organic) color, along with inviting food trucks to sell Indian specialties. 

To prepare for the event, choose light colored clothing that you expect will get very dirty. The last time we went, I got my kids white jean cutoffs and some white t-shirts. I had a white t-shirt and some gray shorts. I was pretty ok with getting color left in my car after the event (who doesn’t need more color in their lives), but if that's an issue for you consider some way to wrap your seats for the trip home. It was much easier not to bring anything but camera’s with us, so we didn’t pack any lunches and expected to buy from the food trucks (so bring appropriate cash). Some people wrap their phones and cameras up in plastic, we just went with it and everything was fine. 

At our first event, my youngest daughter was 6. The DJ was pretty loud and seeing all the color fly was a bit intimidating initially. She basically ran away from the whole thing, which is pretty unusual for her. But once I picked her up and carried her back and we threw the first handful of color at each other, she didn’t want to leave. 

Following the event, you can usually pat yourself down and get the excess color powder off of you. It might be good to have some wet wipes in the car for faces. Then once you get home, it’s showers for everyone and all the clothes go in the washer. You’d be surprised at what comes out after a couple of washes. The yellow seemed to stick around the longest.