Holi was celebrated at two separate events in the City of Newton, first at the New Art Center on Sunday, March 20th and then at Newton City Hall on Sunday, March 27th.

The New Art Center welcomed over 300 guests for a festival of color to welcome Spring on Sunday, March 20, 2022. The event featured artmaking activities for all ages, including Madhubani flower pots, Rangoli sand art, and salad spinner splatter paintings. After getting creative with color, visitors enjoyed traditional songs sung by Meenakshi Kulshreshtha and Jolly Bhatia, the lead singers of Boston’s own Bollywood band, Din Check, followed by a demonstration and workshop from Krithika Rajkumar featuring traditional Bharatanatyam dance. The conclusion of the event included a BollyX dance workshop from Shamila Khetarpal, and outdoor color play. This was the first annual Holi Celebration at New Art Center and was under the consultation of Janhavi Wadwani and Rakashi Chand. The event was free and open to all.

City Hall was awash in colors as Newton residents were invited to enjoying an afternoon of Bollywood music and dance, chalk art and two rounds of color play in front of City Hall. The chilly wind couldn’t stop the fun-filled enjoyment of the crowd, who danced and threw dry color powder at one another, creating many incredible photos and a beautiful mosaic of colors on the ground. The event was held by members of the Newton Indian Community who also provided all the Holi colors for the event. Shamila Khetarpal once again lead the crowd in Bollywood dances and kept everyone on their feet all afternoon with the latest music to celebrate Holi. The event was free and open to all, with some participants playing Holi for the first time, and others who told organizers “This is my most favorite festival in the world!” The open-air celebration attracted people from Newton and all other neighboring cities and towns.

“We are excited to be able to share and promote our culture and showcase the vibrant beauty and traditions we grew up with within our local communities here in the US. Holi is a beautiful array of color and tradition, celebrating love, welcoming Spring, spreading joy and reminding us that goodness will prevail - there is no better festival to share with family, friends and neighbors.”

We hope both events will be held annually and welcome you to join the fun next year!