The Holi Festival of Colors took place on March 8, 2023. It was hosted by the South Asian Club and OMA.

The Holi festival is a Hindu festival that originated in South Asia. The history is that “it has [experienced] genocide, so much force conversion, a lot of imperialism and colonialism that a lot of people of color have faced” said Pragya Gupta (right). “This festival is for us to keep the culture alive and for everyone else they’ll feel a sense of community and fun” said Ryan Balrup (left).

The members of the South Asian Club performed a few cultural dances and began the color throwing.

From left to right: Anu Pradeep, Pragya Gupta, and Manasvi Shenvi all performed a dance together earlier. Pragya also expressed that “somehow through just word of mouth and keeping the culture alive through parents and children, we’re lucky enough to even see it in Statesboro”.

The Holi Festival is “meant to be the coming of spring”. Throwing the colors signifies “bringing color into our lives, living in our mindsets, our spirituality, and getting back into the swing of things” stated Pragya.

During this time, they bring out the best food to eat since “it varies from region to region. So its basically, ‘what’s your best food? What’s your delicacy’ and [people] bring that out” stated Pragya.

From left to right: Alisa McCollum, Anna Powell, Kaz Thomas, and Annie Dave enjoyed themselves a lot at this event. Kaz stated, “The Holi festival is always a joy to be at. You can let loose all your worries and make instant friends!”

“It’s really nice because we’re a smaller organization. To have people within your culture in somewhere that’s very unfamiliar to you, is very welcoming and feels like home still” stated Ryan Balrup.