An annual Elon tradition mixed vibrant powder with the blooming flowers as the community celebrated Holi on April 10, the Hindu festival of colors.
In Hindu tradition, the festival marks the arrival of spring, and at Elon, that celebration came alive as bursts of color, music, and kites filled the Phi Beta Kappa Commons throughout the afternoon.
Hillary Zaken, director of multifaith programming and engagement at the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, helps facilitate the festival series. She said the festival is both joyful and meaningful.
“This is a celebration of the earth coming alive in the springtime, of all the colors that are blooming, and like so many holidays, the triumph of good over evil,” Zaken said.
While the clouds of powder draw large crowds each year, Zaken said that the event is about more than just fun.
“This is a celebration for our Hindu community,” Zaken said. “I want students to listen to the experiences of their Hindu peers and their Hindu professors and their Hindu staff members, about what the holiday means to them.”
Zaken said the event has become more intentional over time, incorporating education alongside celebration.
“It's a way to educate about Hindu traditions, culture, and holidays here at Elon,” Zaken said.
Sophomore Addison Anderson, one of the multifaith interns who helped plan the event, said Holi is spiritual and celebratory.
“It’s like a time to think about, in times of darkness, there's always color and light to be found and to share and celebrate in,” Anderson said.
Anderson, along with her colleague Taylor Polonsky, began planning the event months in advance. In that process, Anderson said they grappled with some hard questions.
“How do we tell people that this isn’t just like a color run, it’s an actual spiritual celebration that matters to a religion,” Anderson said.
Anderson said part of her role is creating space for students to engage with unfamiliar traditions.
“Being a multifaith intern is about creating space for that, uncertainty, and curiosity and even confusion at times,” Anderson said.
Ahron Frankel, a senior and second-year multifaith intern, reflected on his time planning Holi last year and said it extends beyond just a single culture.
“It is very much a pan-South Asian holiday people all over the subcontinent celebrate,” Frankel said.
For Frankel, the event holds personal significance.
“As a South Asian student, there's not a lot of us here, but it always, since my freshman year, has meant the world to me that this is one of the biggest Elon events,” Frankel said.
Last year, Frankel implemented a new activity at the festival, kite flying. He said he learned about the tradition while visiting India in 2013, when he saw people flying kites from their balconies to welcome spring.
Charles Guder, a freshman who attended the event, said the energy of the crowd was what stood out the most.
“I loved how happy everyone looked, just to be here, together throwing colors,” Guder said.
The event also featured a performance from Surtal, Elon’s Bollywood dance company, along with speeches, mandala coloring, henna, and traditional foods.
Frankel said the celebration invites interfaith connection while still honoring faith-based tradition.
“It is a lot more than just throwing colors at your friends,” Frankel said. “It is breaking social barriers and getting to know the people around you, and coming together for this very high-energy event.”