Monday, March 28, 2011

Hare Kirshna Holi Color Festival

Who knew throwing colored powder on people would be so much fun.  The day started out in white shirts and jeans, and children who didn't have a clue what to expect.   When I gave the colored cornstarch to my kids they were unsure what to do.  Their concern was that they would get into trouble.  Ethan had yellow and Ryan pink, and I told them to chuck some color on me.  They looked at me funny and them with some concern started throwing the color on me.  As they saw my smile, and realized that I was filling their clothing with color they quickly lightened up.   Ethan got really into it and I found myself with a mouthful of yellow, and an ear full of pink!  Huge smiles shined on their faces!  Covering mom in a colored powder was a good thing!  The two of them ran around and colored everyone they could!  Their giggles and laughter filled the air with each new color they threw!  It made my heart very happy! 
We ate a yummy Indian meal and watched the show of people and fun!  The countdown was amazing as the colors flew into the air and the music played! 
Things to know!

Krishna Temple
8628 S State Road.
Spanish Fork, Utah
http://www.utahkrishnas.com/

Highlights!
Throwing color! 
Laughing at people getting blasted with color!
Awesome very loud, rock music!
Lots of chanting of Hara Krishna!
Beautiful Temple, and view!
Yummy food and yummy mango lassie drinks!
Pictures of my family having a great time!
The people!
The count down and spray of color in the air!
Lamas....and they do spit!

Colors go on sale the first of the month.  They are $2.50 a package, or you can buy a set of 6 for $10.
Don't show up thinking you are going to buy some, they sell out every year.  There were many a sad child who didn't have color! 

Saturdays are much more crowded than the Sunday event. 

There is parking behind the temple or you can pay $2 a person to ride a shuttle from one of many areas.  You will have to check back to see where the shuttles will be running from next time.   There is parking along the side of the road.  People were walking MILES, when there was actually parking pretty close to the temple.  I would highly suggest driving by the temple and seeing if there is close parking.  We parked in the back of the temple, and didn't need to walk or pay for the shuttle bus.

The food is AMAZING!  I would highly suggest it!  My kids were starving and at about 1/2 of my food.  It is $6 and could feed 2 people! It is ONLY vegetarian, so don't expect BBQ chicken!

The color will go through layers of clothing.  I had three layers and I still had color under my clothing. 

It snowed the night before we went, and it was a little muddy, not bad, but still slippery.  It was a little cold and wet.  Plan on it being cold and windy.

You will get colored!!!  Don't think you can avoid it!  Plan on being covered with color!  Curt thought he would avoid it, but in less than 5 minutes he was hit! Green covered his whole back!  Someone hit him, they got him GOOD!
Don't wear anything you like! I wore white so I could see the color, but after washing it everything was pink.  then the second wash it turned purple.  I even bleached it and about 90% went back white, but it will never be the same!  Even jeans will still have a light pink hue for a few washes.

If your hair is light, your hair will take whatever color you get hit with.  My hair is still pink, purple and green!  I washed it four times last night and it is still colored.  Very slight, but I am no longer a blond!

Take a water bottle or extra water of some kind.  If you get a mouthful of color it can be a little icky.  Just have the water on hand just in case your mouth gets filled.  It doesn't taste bad, it's just dry.  I got a mouth full of yellow, and was amazed that after 1/2 hour I could still spit dry yellow out!  I had a MOUTHFUL!

We brought extra clothing to change into and sheets covering the cars seats.  Even with the change of clothing the sheets still had color on them.  I would highly recommend taking towels and sheets to protect your car. 

Above all HAVE FUN!  This can be such a fun and crazy experience!  RELAX and Just let go and enjoy! This isn't a time to keep clean, it's time to have fun! The whole point of the color festival is that everyone that has fun, and begins to look the same.  The color of your hair and skin doesn't matter anymore, you will all blend in! 

Hope to see you all there next year!!!

 



If you have questions PLEASE ask!