Hindu community celebrates Holi festival in downtown Calgary

Calgary's Hindu community celebrated Holi on Saturday in downtown Calgary.

Calgary’s Hindu community came together Saturday for their spring Holi festival.

The event drew more than 1,000 in downtown Calgary.

The celebration marks the arrival of spring.

Indian Society of Calgary president Devesh Oberoi said the festival is a kind of celebration of the end of winter.

“This festival marks the victory of good over evil, because there has been a historical context around it,” said Oberoi.

“Plus, at the same time, in the spring, the colours bloom,” he added. “After the winter is over, the snow season is over, all the whiteness we see around is over -- (and) we get to witness all these colours blooming around, and that’s what these colours signify at the beginning of this season.”

There were colour throws that people threw in the air and smeared on themselves and others. Indian cuisine was also part of the celebration.

“This is a festival of colours that’s open to all Calgarians,” Oberoi said. “It’s a very unified event, aimed at bringing everyone together to mark the beginning of spring.”