Powdered colour was flying in the air of the George Little Park in Terrace on Sunday afternoon March 24 at a gathering to celebrate Holi, a Hindu festival observed in parts of South Asia.
This was the first time the Northwest Indo-Canadian Sports & Arts Society organized the event to celebrate Holi, also known as the festival of colours, after Skeena Diversity gave it a kick start in 2019. Holi also marks the start of the spring season.
More than 200 people attended the event which included music and snacks.
”The way we approached it this year, by personally inviting a few people and through our posts on social media made a big difference,” said Kam Siemens, president of Northwest Indo-Canadian Sports & Arts Society. “We had a team this year, and everyone brought different expertise to it.”
In earlier years, Suresh Choudhary, the lead organizer, made powdered colour used for the celebration by mixing corn starch and food colouring. “It used to be a lot work to make 25 pounds of colour, which runs out in a few minutes,” Choudhary exclaimed.
This year, the organizers ordered 50 pounds of organic colour from a manufacturer in Quebec, a quantity that lasted for about an hour as participants tossed it into the air and on each other. “It saved us a lot of time and we could focus on other aspects,” Seimens said.
Mayor Sean Bujtas, and councillors Inder Dhillon and Sarah Zimmerman also attended the event.
“As we are increasingly divided on social media, coming together as fellow community members becomes more and more important,” Bujtas said on a facebook post.
Siemens called the event a cultural and religious blend. “It was a great turnout with so many diverse groups of people. Our goal to bring happiness and learning from one another was truly accomplished,” she said.
The Northwestern Indo-Canadian Sports and Arts Society is planning to expand the celebration of the festival by adding performances next year.
The society is also looking forward to celebrating other Indian festivals such as Teeyan da mela and Diwali this year.