BATON ROUGE - Baton Rouge residents gathered downtown Saturday to celebrate Holi in the Capital City.

Also known as “festival of colors” or the “festival of love," Holi signifies the arrival of spring, the victory of good over evil and for many, a festive day to unite. 

“The spirit of Holi is unity, forgetting resentment, positivity and it’s a big part of our culture. But not only is it celebrated in India, it’s celebrated around the world. So, we like introducing our culture to Baton Rouge and sample our cuisine, hearing our music and sharing our culture which is really for everybody,” Holi Festival Baton Rouge Committee member Anita Gouri said.

Holi Festival has been in Baton Rouge for three years and continues to grow in popularity. The unique Indian festival of colors, harmony, friendship and love attracts people from many different cultures in the community.

“It’s one of my favorite experiences because there’s a lot of joy, a lot of camaraderie, and a lot of fun,” Mayor Sharon Weston Broome said.

Festival goers celebrated by throwing colored chalk, dancing, and enjoying each other’s company at Repentance Park. The event was free and included kid-friendly activities like face painting and henna tattoos. Holi festival had something for everybody.

“Everybody in Baton Rouge out here enjoying this Indian festival to come together for something really fun like throwing chalk at each other right? It’s not just the kids doing it, I see more adults with chalk than children,” founder and CEO of Raising Cane's, Todd Graves, said.

The event was hosted by Colors of the World, a non-profit organization. A portion of the proceeds from the festival will be given to local nonprofit organizations in Baton Rouge.