A colourful celebration is being held this weekend.
The Indian festival of Holi, known as the festival of colours, is being marked Sunday, March 18 at Northern College.
“It’s a very important festival in India, it’s called a spring festival,” said Raj Mohanty.
“What it is is people throw colours at each other, they all come out on the streets and throw colours at each other, and splash coloured water, spray coloured water, sprinkle coloured powders.”
While the traditional event is held outdoors, the Timmins festivities will be inside. That means instead of throwing colour, Mohanty explained they will have paint available and people will be able to put it on their face, for example, if they want.
Having a Holi celebration is something that Mohanty said they’ve been thinking about for a while. Because the festival is based on the lunar cycle, he said the date always changes and winter has gotten in the way of their plans.
“We decided this year weather should not be a barrier, we should adapt it wherever you live,” he said.
The event is being held by the Northern College International Department, the Association of India, and the Timmins and District Multicultural Centre.
It will be in the gym at the college from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The Association of India is making the catering arrangements and the cost is $10 for a vegetarian meal and $15 for non-vegetarian. For tickets, email [email protected] before March 17.
There will also will be henna, and traditional Indian dance and music.
“People who want to sit back, relax and watch, it’s the perfect opportunity to do that,” he said.
Being the first celebration, they don’t know how many people to expect, but they are hoping for 125-150 people.
He noted the goal is also to raise awareness about multiculturalism and share different values, beliefs and ideas.
“Timmins needs these kind of things to make it a place for everyone,” Mohanty said.
