The Acadiana Indian Association will be presenting the 5th annual Lafayette Holi Festival on Saturday in Girard Park. Festivities will be held from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Holi is a festival that is observed by Hindus in the early Spring. It’s a colorful free-for-all of sights and sounds. And by free-for-all we mean it is literally free. Participants in the festival can expect to be bombarded by dry colored powder, which when observing from afar creates a dusty, beautiful tornado of happy faces. The powder being used at Lafayette Holi is organically made from food grade corn starch mixed with food coloring. So don’t worry, it’s completely non-hazardous.
There also will be waterguns shooting streams of color all over the place. There will be a “color zone” where all the powder and waterguns will be restricted so if you don’t wish to get wet and dusty and just enjoy the spectacle, you can. There will be music in the Bollywood tradition, which is very danceable. Home-cooked Indian food will be available on site for modest prices, as well as pizza, ice cream and beer.
Holi is celebrated as a the Full Moon approaches, and as such the date varies every year. The fest symbolizes the triumph of good over evil, the arrival of springtime and the end of winter. It’s also seen by Hindus as a time to have fun, laugh and love one another. It’s an ancient tradition with references to Holi festivities dating as far back as the 4th century. We’re known for our crazy number of festival in Lafayette, and the Holi Fest is one of our most unique and fun ones. Don’t miss it.
More information available here.