With fistfuls of neon-coloured powder, smiles and an array of colours were seen on everyone’s face during Terrace’s Holi celebrations on March 17.
Known as the “festival of colours”, Holi is an ancient Hindu spring festival that signifies a religious victory of good over evil. Around 16 people filed into George Little Park with the powder in hand, prepared for an all-out battle.
“In India, it’s a really big festival, the second largest after Diwali,” says Suresh Choudhary, who helped organize the event.
“They colour each other to express their feelings and how much they love each other, so it’s really a love festival for everybody.”
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Choudhary is a first-year international student from New Delhi studying at Coast Mountain College. He wanted to bring Holi to Terrace through his volunteer work with Skeena Diversity. This is the first time the centre has hosted the colourful festival.
Choudhary says he remembers throwing colours and playing outside all day with his friends and family in India.
“It’s an indication that now it’s summer and winter is over,” Choudhary says. “When I was in India, we used to play Holi all day, from six in the morning to three in the afternoon.”
The powder used for the festival is all-natural, made from mixing 10-pounds of cornstarch with food colouring. It’s then left to dry and then blended to make it into a fine powder for participants to throw in the air and at each other.
For almost an hour, people were sneaking up on each other, painting each other’s faces, and leaving a colourful mark at the George Little Park. By the end, everyone was covered head-to-toe in a mixture of colours.
“It was great,” says Choudhary, noting how many children enjoyed the festival that day.
“Next time we’ll make it bigger and prepare more colours.”
brittany@terracestandard.com
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