Suburbanites usher in spring with bright colors at Naperville Holi festival

A mist of bright, rainbow-hued powder enveloped hundreds of suburbanites Saturday as they participated in the Simply Vedic Cultural Society's "Holi - The Festival of Colors" at Grand Pavilion Riverwalk in Naperville.

Friends, family members and strangers threw handfuls of the colorful powders made with organic, dyed flour to celebrate

Holi, an ancient Hindu festival marking the arrival of spring and representing the triumph of good over evil.

"This is pretty awesome," said Alexandra Duastella of Venezuela, who was visiting friends covered in colors.

Faranez Moknine and Mave, 5, both of Naperville, shared a colorful laugh as they made a FaceTime call with a friend.

The festival also is said to be an re-enactment of a game the Hindu god Lord Krishna played with his consort Radha and the gopis, or milkmaids.

People in many parts of India, Nepal and South Asian Diasporas all over the world celebrate the festival with a friendly game of tagging each other with colors.

Traditionally, the colors used in Holi were derived from flowers and herbs that produce bright natural dyes. Today's Holi colors usually are synthetic.

Participants at the Naperville festival were supplied bags of dry colors for a $2 donation each. The event included live musical performances to engage and energize the crowd, and food from local vendors.

"We wanted to make it more mainstream," said Sarita Sharma, board secretary of the Simply Vedic Cultural Society of Naperville, which organizes the event. "We just wanted to make it for everybody."

Organizers planned for up to 3,000 participants as in previous years when the festival was held in Naperville. It was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and delayed until September last year.

"This is our 12th year," Sharma said. "We are the first one who started (the festival) in 2010. Nobody has done it before in a public park. From day one we have had very good response from all our communities."

Attendees come from diverse communities representing a variety of races and ages.

"Our purpose is to just put a smile on their faces," said Sharma, adding "throw your worries to the wind with a handful of color, and that's what we do."

The society aims to bring people together through the festival and build bridges between various cultures and communities, she added.

"Our main focus now is on cultural exchange," Sharma said.

Daily Herald staff photographer Brian Hill contributed to this report.