Rain Can’t Stop Colorful Celebration of Holi In Queens

Happy Holi

An overcast day threatened to make the 31st Holi Festival Parade in Richmond Hills, Queens a soggy event. Luckily the heavy rains held off and it was an occasional light shower that sprayed the revelers lined up on Liberty Ave. with a hint of Spring. The Holi festival is one of the oldest festivals still celebrated in India and passed on to the generations of the Hindu-Caribbean community. Richmond Hills is home to the largest concentration of Guyanese and Hindu Trinidadian population in the city. Pre-parade festivities began just before noon at a small stage set up where a dance was performed and a plaque was dedicated to a police detective from the local precinct that made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

Getting Ready To Spread Some Color

King and His Lion in Prayer

Traditional Dancers Having Fun

All the community mandirs as well as local businesses get together for this event and make it a colorful and peaceful event. The United Madrassi float really had a good representation of the event. This is one of the most important festivals in India and celebrates good over evil and celebrates love for one another. It is also a way of kicking away the winter blues and announcing the colors of spring soon to arrive. The parade keeps growing in popularity as there 21 floats this year, the most ever for this young parade. All the marchers and floats make their way to Smokey Park where a stage is set up to continue the day long festival.

Written by: Albert Terc

Photos by: Albert Terc