Girard Park will be the place to "literally color up each other" Saturday when the Acadiana Indian Association hosts its first ever Holi Festival. Girard Park will be the place to "literally color up each other" Saturday when the Acadiana Indian Association hosts its first ever Holi Festival.
According to the AIA's website, the inaugural event, also known in Hindu countries as the Indian Festival of Colors, will include food, games, music, singing, dancing and - of course - lots of color.
"Lafayette Holi Festival will start a new tradition in Lafayette, a public celebration of Holi. It will be a [half] day event combining Indian and Cajun spirit," the group says on its website. "Like all Cajun festivals, this will be a family friendly festival, catering to all age groups. However, be prepared for your inner child to spring out, and enjoy the simple pleasure of coloring others, both friends and strangers."
Holi is a long-standing Indian tradition that welcomes the arrival of spring, while also celebrating Hindu mythology and allowing Hindu worshipers to let loose for a day, according to a 2010 report from The Boston Globe. Typically, the celebrations include going a bit wild in the streets and spraying vividly colored powders on each other.
The free festival in Lafayette is from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at Girard Park.
To see pictures of last year's Holi celebrations throughout India, click here.