11
COURIER LIFE, APRIL 15-21, 2022
LIFE IN
COLOR!
Brooklyn welcomes spring with
back-to-back Holi celebrations
The crowd danced, covered in bright colors in the air at Tailgate
Brooklyn’s Holi celebration. Photo by Ximena Del Cerro
BY XIMENA DEL CERRO
Spring’s slow return
to Brooklyn is finally taking
shape, and hundreds
of people celebrated the
new season and all it represents
at Holi festivities
across the borough. Patches
of green grass, white and
pink flower covered trees
and people walking around
with color powder on their
clothes have been common
sights over the last few
weekends, with the warmer
season bringing parties and
joy to the city.
Holi, also known as the
Festival of Colors and the
Festival of Spring, is an Indian
celebration of spring
and new beginnings. For
two consecutive weekends,
events characterized by
clouds of color in the air and
Bollywood music took place
in different neighborhoods.
On April 2, the Brooklyn
Children’s Museum in
Crown Heights hosted a
family-friendly event with
performances from local
dance schools and a color
powder play. Children and
adults alike participated in
what turned into a clouds of
yellow, green, blue, orange
and pink, leaving everyone’s
faces and clothes as record
of the experience.
The following Saturday,
a different party, with the
same taste of adventure,
took place in Williamsburg.
This time, the crowd was of
age, but the atmosphere was
similarly joyful.
The tradition was
adapted into a dance party
mixing Bollywood songs
and hip-hop. Attendees
sang along to the music at
TailGate Brooklyn, an outdoor
sports bar.
Hundreds of New Yorkers,
neighbors from New
Jersey and tourists gathered
together, armed with
the traditional colored powder
to throw at each other.
Participants left each
celebration tired, happy,
and streaked with symbolic
color. Holi doesn’t just symbolize
the return of spring
— the festival celebrates the
triumph of good over evil
and acknowledges the stories
told about Hindu gods.
Each colored powder holds
a different meaning — blue
represents the god Krishnu;
green, nature and happiness;
yellow, the turmeric
powder used often in Indian
traditions and rituals; and
red, love and fertility.
While the powder may
wash away, the symbolism
of the festival and all it celebrates
is likely to stick with
the Brooklynites who took
part in each brilliant party
for years to come.