Desi Talk

www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know 8 COVER STORY ˨HOLI SPECIAL March 6, 2026 Holi Celebrations In The Tri-State Area And Across US N ewYork City’s Holi celebrations are more like modern parties with some Indian music and food. Mainly adult events, they resemble night club parties combined with outdoor color play. Many of these events do not allow colors from outside, making it mandatory to purchase safe colors at the venue. Most events ask you to wear white for the color play. The cruise and yard parties are ticketed and sell off well in advance. Holi at the Seaport, Manhattan, NY, is a free event at Seaport Square featuring color play, dance performances, interactive dance workshop, and children’s program on theWaver tree ship includes puppet shows, book readings, photo opportuni- ties and craft activities. An outdoor Indian Market offers shopping. Holi in the City, Brooklyn, holds a large open air party with music and color play. Holi Fest at 230 Fifth, Manhattan, the rooftop bar, holds Holi parties on the 20th floor location, blending indoor nightclub and outdoor celebration. Its special fea- tures include photo stations, a celebrity DJ, Indian street-style food and views of Manhattan including the Empire State Building. Pier, 36 in Manhattan offers Bollywood Holi Cruises, NewYork City’s boat rides with music, dance and dinner. New York Public Library also holds Holi celebrations with cultural activities, book readings and art at its 53rd Street branch in Manhattan. Holi Haiii NYC Cruise is a cruise party on the Hudson River aboard a premium multi-deck cruise ship with the backdrop of NewYork City’s skyline. The event only for adults includes live music with dhol and DJ playing popular Bollywood tunes, photo booths and color play with organic colors provided with the ticket. It is both an indoor and an outdoor event. Phagwah in NYC is primarily cel- ebrated with a massive, vibrant parade in Richmond Hill, Queens, known as “Little Guyana”—featuring thousands of participants, parade, music and color and water play. The parade has become famous in NewYork City’s Queens area, with live music, traditional dancing, food, and celebrating the Indian heritage of the Indo-Caribbean community. Holi in New Jersey is celebrated with large-scale Festival of Colors events, particularly in Hudson and Middlesex counties, featuring the color play, Bolly- wood dancing with DJs. Major gatherings feature food vendors, traditional snacks, cultural performances, henna tattoos, face painting and children’s games. Rang De Basanti, Edison, NJ, is an outdoor Holi celebration, with color play, dance, Bollywood music, and dhol performanc- es. Street food vendors serve popular Indian dishes, recalling Holi melas. The event offers free admission to children under twelve for whom specific activities are designed. Surati-Rimli Roy Holi Hai, Hudson River, NJ, is a huge celebration of color play, Holi walk, dance, food and shopping. Holi Picnic by Sanskriti, NJ, is a fam- ily event with color play and games for children and adults. An authentic Indian lunch is part of the picnic. Holi in Marlboro, NJ, is also an indoor family event emphasizing culture and tra- dition with outdoor color play. The day’s celebration includes DJ music, dance, live performances, karaoke, photo booth, games and Indian food. Summit area YMCA Holi, NJ, held at the Summit Village Green, is an outdoor event with color play, music, dancing, arts and crafts, yoga, henna tattoos, photo booth, Holi history walk, and Indian snacks. NJ Family Holi Festival features color play, music, dance, henna, face painting and Indian food. There are many other Holi celebrations in New Brunswick and Livingston are in New Jersey, all featuring dance, music, DJ, color play and Indian food. Holi Festival, DuPont Circle, Washington DC is jointly organized with the Embassy of India, is a traditional Holi celebration, with masala chai, thandai, festive sweets, traditional Indian dance and color play. Rang De Virginia Holi Fest is an open air celebration is a family event with booths of food and drink, photo booths, color play and music. Annual Houston Holi at Houston, TX, is one of the largest and most established celebrations in US, drawing diverse crowds from across the South. It features an outdoor concert and carnival with popular singers, free carnival rides for kids, professional dance performances, and vegetarian street food. Holi celebra- tions at Dallas are more traditional and spiritual. Chicago offers distinct ways to cel- ebrate Holi, catering to both the high- energy party crowd and families seeking cultural program. Chicago Holi Rave, IL, an event for adults is a rooftop party with Bollywood music, dhol playing, live dance performances and color play. Arts and Community Integration, Chicago, IL, is a Holi celebration led by Kalapriya Center for Indian Performing Arts, for families. It features cultural education on the history of Holi, Bollywood dance les- sons and outdoor color play. Holi & The Beach, Los Angeles, CA, cel- ebrates Holi in the California fashion at the Seaside Lagoon, Redondo Beach, drawing a very large crowd and featur- ing a festival stage, Bollywood celebrity DJs, organic color play on the beach. A blend of traditional and modern food is a special attraction. By a StaffWriter Traditional Holi Celebrations In The US Temples I f one wants to experience the milder religious flavor of the festival of Holi, one must go to the temples in the US. Major US temples celebrate the Holi festival along with a Pooja and the bonfire with all its rituals, devotional music, followed by a play of colors by the devotees. And then follows delicious Indian food. Holi at the temples is, thus, a blend of both the serious and the light hearted fun part of the festival. However, the fun is usually not wild fun and the food is the prasa- dam offered to the deities. ISKCON, NY: NewYork’s International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple located in Brooklyn celebrates Holi as a vibrant festival of colors, devotion, and community, focusing on spiritual joy, chanting and kirtan, and dancing. The celebration typically includes throwing fragrant, natural colored powders, offering of special prayers to Radha and Krishna, and sharing a fes- tive, vegetarian feast or prasadam. The temple provides an inclusive, family-friendly environment for both dedi- cated followers and the wider community to celebrate the triumph of good over evil. Ganesh Temple, NY: The Sri Maha Vallabha Ganapati Devasthanam (NYC Ganesha Temple) in Flushing cel- ebrates Holi with traditional rituals, including a special, interactive Holi Pooja featuring prayers and aarati. The festivities, which welcome spring and honor Lord Krishna, typically include a community-focused, vibrant atmosphere with color throwing, storytelling, and prasaad. The temple also holds a Kid’s Holi event with aarati, storytelling and interaction. The temple honors the victory of good over evil, referencing the story of Prahlada. Vishnu Mandir, Bronx: It celebrates Holi (or Phagwah) by blending traditional rituals with community festivities. The temple traditionally holds a Holika Dahan bonfire to signify the destruction of evil. The celebrations also include devotional singing of bhajans, playing with gulal and dancing at the community gatherings. This is usually followed by a prasaad of traditional sweets. New Jersey Temples: Several temples in New Jersey hold traditional Holi celebrations with a Holika Dahan bon- fire, devotional music and playing with colored powder, and prasaad. Each temple has its own tradition and décor for the festival. Chief among the temples which celebrate Holi traditionally are the ISKCON NJ temple in Towaco, the Gayatri Chetna Center in Piscataway, Sri Ambaji Mandir in Garfield. These temples draw a large community with their festivities. The Hanuman Temple in Piscataway also holds community-wide Holi events. Other temples celebrating Holi with cultural programs include the Gajanan Maha- raj Temple of North Brunswick, the BAPS Shri Swamina- rayan Mandir of Edison, the JalaramTemple at Franklin Park and the Ved Mandir at Milltown. Across US: Elsewhere in the US, Holi celebrations also draw huge crowds to the temples. Events are sometimes held on different dates to accommodate weekends. The Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, UT, holds a large festival known as the Festival of Colors attracting Indians and non-Indians for music, dance and color play. Radha Madhav Dham in Austin, TX, and the Hindu Temple of Colorado in Denver are famous for their authentic, traditional and devotional, community-focused festivi- ties to welcome spring. Radha Krishna Temple in Dallas, TX, features a week-long celebration including Holika Dahan and traditional bha- jans, Here, the play is with flowers, known as Phoolon Ki Holi and not with colored powders. The Hindu Temple & Cultural Center of the Rockies in Den- ver, CO, usually holds a large event with live music, food, and color. While the Hindu Society of North Carolina at Morrisville, NC, features a Temple Holi Mela, the Hindu Temple of Toledo, Ohio, holds traditional celebrations starting with Pooja and aarati before outdoor color-throwing. Chicago offers distinct ways to celebrate Holi, catering to both the high-energy party crowd and families seeking cultural immersion. By Archana Adalja PHOTO:FACEBOOK PHOTO:WEBSITE PHOTO ISKCON temple, NY. Ganesha Temple of NY.