Colors brighten Juneau’s spring during fourth annual Holi festival

“Holi adds colors to your grayness,” Sri Malladi, who moved to Juneau in September, said. “It adds color to your life.”

Spice Juneau Indian Cuisine held its fourth annual Holi celebration on Monday. Holi is a Hindu festival of colors that recognizes love, equality, and spring. Malladi said the festival means home for him.

He was one of many downtown who volunteered to help Nimmy Philips, owner of Spice Juneau Indian Cuisine and president of the Downtown Business Association, with the event. Outside a staged backdrop awaiting dancers brightened the dim evening. Inside Spice, people ate lamb biryani, with a garnish of quail eggs, a side of cucumbers, raita and papadam.

“It’s a block party and all the businesses are participating, big specials going on, food and drink collaboration with Devil’s Club and Amalga,” Philips said. “It’s not just for Spice, it’s a community festival.”

She said that each year, more businesses and community members join the Holi festival. The holiday lands on March 14, but Philips said she chose to celebrate later so it wouldn’t compete with St. Patrick’s Day festivities. She added it was also an attempt to attract people to businesses downtown on a slow day.

Holi traditionally celebrates the triumph of good over evil, commemorating the victory of the supreme being Vishnu over the evil king Hiranyakashipu. But Philips said her event is about community, not religion.

“In India, it’s like a melting pot, so many different people are around,” she said. “Like, Muslim, Hindu, Christianity — we all celebrate the same things. It doesn’t matter who you are.”

After eating dinner and shopping at special sales held around downtown Juneau, about 400 people gathered in the rain to watch a flash mob of 27 Bollywood dancers, who had rehearsed their playful, interactive routine for three months.

Kathleen Porterfield and Amy Nye danced in the festival for the first time, dressed in an array of palash and marigold.

“I grew up watching Bollywood movies with my friends,” Porterfield said. “Once I did a mehndi workshop with Nimmy at Spice, and at that workshop, I found out about the Bollywood dance group. I immediately wanted to sign up for it. It’s been so fun. It’s been the perfect thing to get through the end of winter.”

During the event, Philips presented the nonprofit organization Catholic Community Service with a $2,000 check for its Meals on Wheels program. Multiple businesses downtown contributed to the donation.

“We try to serve our seniors in town who might not be able to get to our senior center for a daily in-person lunch,” Aria Moore, operations manager at CCS, said. “And so we deliver to their home, or apartments, or senior residences as best as we can. This is part of why I love this community. It’s so wonderful and diverse. We all want to support each other, which is amazing.”

She said Meals on Wheels is looking for more volunteers, and if someone is interested, they can email mow@ccsjuneau.org.

Philips then prepared the powder of corn starch, food coloring, and rice flour. The dancing resumed as the colors showered down like rainfall. Philips, who is from India, said she brought 13 kilograms of colors back to Juneau with her after a trip. She tossed clouds of orange, red, green, yellow, blue, and purple into the air.

The spring storm stained and drenched everyone’s white clothes as they laughed and spun on the saturated street. Friends flung the colored powder and then embraced.

“The throwing of the colors represents all the children in us,” Philips said. “Forget the difference. Let’s be one. Let’s have fun.”

• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz.garrett@juneauempire.com or (907) 723-9356.