When the Hindu celebration of Phagwah (also known as Holi) rolls around, it's a rite of spring—and Richmond Hill, Queens. According to NY1, the parade is a "Hindu cultural celebration where participants walk around with their face colored with special dye to represent the colors of spring. The celebration also commemorates the triumph of good over evil, and recognizes unity among different races." The Parade's Grand Marshall Chunelall Larine further explained, "The inner meaning is the integration of people with various backgrounds different races, we can all live together in harmony and we can be as beautiful as we look with all this colors splashed on us."
The celebration is observed by Hindu communities in India as well as Trinidad and Guyana. Yesterday, the parade made its annual march to Smokey Oval Park where participants use powder and dye splash each other with color. Atomische has some wonderful photographs—see a few above and his entire set here. There are even photographs of Mayor Bloomberg, who joined the parade (he was powder-free).
