HOLI FUN! Hindu festival brings a burst of color during Phagwah Parade in Queens

Queens came alive Sunday in an array of colors and joyous dancing for the 36th Phagwah Parade that drew hundreds of jubilant attendees.

The Phagwah Parade is held annually in Richmond Hill celebrating the Hindu festival of colors known as Holi. During this tradition observers throw multicolored powders over one another to signify unity and the power of good over evil. 

Gathering on 133rd Street and Liberty Avenue, people of all ages and across the political spectrum joined in the celebration, which was sponsored by the Federation of Hindu Mandris Inc & Arya Spiritual Center Inc.

Attorney General Letitia James, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, and even the Guardian Angels’ Curtis Sliwa offered their faces to be coated in color by participants. 

Hundreds of spectators lined the streets, many with handfuls of color powder ready to toss as they watched floats whiz by thumping music. NYPD officers spread powder over the faces of attendees, while those representing the LGBTQ+ showed off their dance moves to the steady sound of drumbeats.

The parade concluded with a cultural program at Phil Rizzuto Park.