Holi, widely known as the Hindu festival of colors, is a joyful annual celebration at the advent of spring with cultural and religious significance.
Typically observed in March in India, Nepal, other South Asian countries and across the diaspora, the festival celebrates love and signifies a time of rebirth and rejuvenation—a time to embrace the positive and let go of negative energy.
For one of Holi’s most well-known traditions, celebrants clad in all white, come out to the street and throw colored powders at each other, leaving behind a kaleidoscope of pigments and joy. Festivities with music, dancing and food ensue.
Holi in western Washington
Communities across the Seattle area will celebrate with a series of color festivals featuring music, dance, food and family activities.
The first major event, the Festival of Color, is scheduled for Sunday, March 8, at Redmond City Hall in partnership with the City of Redmond. The festival will run from noon to 5 p.m. and will include music, dance performances, food vendors and color celebrations.
Admission is free, but organizers require advance registration for entry and for participation in raffle drawings.
The festivities continue the following weekend with Holi: The Colors Festival 2026 – United, hosted by Beats of Washington on March 14 at Crossroads Park in Bellevue. The event will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Organizers say the celebration will feature DJ music, live dhol-tasha percussion, singing performances and group dances. The festival is designed to recreate the traditional spirit of Holi with vibrant color powder and community participation.
On March 21, the Phinneywood neighborhood in Seattle will hold its Phinneywood Holi Celebration from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Phinney Center’s Brick Building, located at 6532 Phinney Ave. N.
Admission for the Phinneywood celebration is $8 for children, $15 for members and $20 for the general public. Organizers said support from the regional cultural funding agency 4Culture helps provide free or low-cost access for community members.
The Seattle Color Festival at the Mural Amphitheatre at Seattle Center on March 22, 2025. Photo by Ruth Bayang
The monthlong series of celebrations will conclude March 28 with the Seattle Color Festival at Mural Amphitheatre. The event begins at 11 a.m. and is billed by organizers as Seattle’s largest color festival.
Admission is free with pre-registration. The festival will feature live music, including performances by Dream Prashant, as well as traditional dhol drumming. Color packets and festival T-shirts will be available for purchase, and outside color powders will not be permitted to ensure safety standards.
Food trucks and snacks will also be available throughout the day.
Holi has its origins in Hindu mythology and lore
In many parts of India, people light large bonfires the night before the festival to signify the destruction of evil and victory of good. Different mythological tales point to the reason behind this observance.
In one story, the king, Hiranyakashipu, ordered everyone in his kingdom to worship him and was irked when his own son Prahlad, a devotee of Lord Vishnu, disobeyed his command. So, he ordered his sister Holika who was immune from fire to take the child, Prahlad, into a bonfire while holding him in her lap. However, when the pyre was lit, the boy’s devotion to Lord Vishnu protected him and left him unscathed while Holika, despite her immunity, burned to death.
In another southern India tradition, the event is known as Kama Dahanam to commemorate Lord Shiva burning Kamadeva, the god of love, with his third eye. It symbolizes the destruction of lust and other earthly attachments for a higher spiritual purpose, preceding the joy of colors.
Some also consider Holi a reference to Lord Krishna and his love for his beloved, Radha, and his cosmic play with his consorts and devotees called “gopikas,” who are also revered for their unconditional love and devotion to Krishna.
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