Join the Summit Area YMCA on Saturday, June 25 to celebrate Holi at the Summit Village Green! Everyone is encouraged to participate in this free, fun and joyous outdoor color throwing festival with music, dancing, arts & crafts, and more! White attire recommended! Read some tips below on how to get ready for Holi.
Holi is a traditional Indian festival that signifies the victory of good over evil and beauty of spring! During the Holi Festival, festival goers are encouraged to throw organic powdered colors at each other to honor the legend of Krishna whose skin was dark blue. Krishna played a prank on Radha, whose complexion was fair, with color to make her similar to his own dark blue skin. This prank and gesture has since been adopted as a festival activity for all to enjoy the mischievousness and playful nature of Krishna. The powder is also symbolic of the colors within Indian culture; red for love and fertility, blue for Krishna, yellow for turmeric (auspicious and sacred in Indian culture, used in cooking and medicines) and green for spring and new beginnings.
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Saturday, June 25
Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Summit Village Green (Free parking at the Chestnut Ave & Broad Street Parking Garage)
Cost: FREE
Pre-registration is required.
FESTIVAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
• Festival of Colors: Throwing Gulal Colored Powder*
• Yoga
• Henna tattoos
• Arts & Crafts
• Music
• Dance activities including Bollywood & BollyX
• Photo booth
• Holi history walk
• Authentic Indian snacks
*Non-toxic organic colors will be available for purchase on the day of the event at the Summit Village Green. Gulal color powder is made from corn starch/rice flour, food grade color and are eco-friendly and biodegradable.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
International YOGA Day Celebration
7:00-10:00 AM, Summit Village Green
In Honor of International Yoga Day, the Y is celebrating by having back-to-back yoga classes outdoors! Feel free to attend one, two or all yoga sessions! These outdoor yoga classes will be followed by the HOLI festival at 10:00 AM. Please bring your own yoga mat.
7:00-7:45 AM: Morning Flow Yoga
7:45-8:30 AM: Vinyasa Yoga
8:30-9:15 AM: Morning Flow Yoga
9:15-10:00 AM: Yoga and Meditation
Reserve your spot on the SAY mobile app or online schedules.
PRIDE Ride Cycling
7:30-8:15 AM, Summit YMCA
This indoor cycling class will honor cultural diversity. Celebration will be a key theme, with the aim to encourage cyclists of all identities to ride together ‘to celebrate love, diversity and the powerful history of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Reserve your spot on the SAY mobile app or online schedules.
The Summit Area YMCA also hosts events like Welcoming Week, Pride Celebration, Diwali Festival of Lights, Lunar New Year Festival, Special Needs Prom, in its inclusion efforts. Also providing financial assistance for individuals and families with demonstrated need towards programs, memberships and childcare.
9 tips on how to get ready for holi!
1. Apply proper layer of cream or oil on the body, your hair, your face, your arms and legs. If you do, you’ll have a better chance of washing the color off at the end of the day. Coconut or almond oil are recommended – so pack some to take with you.
2. If you have light colored hair and you don’t want it to get stained with color, cover your head. Either tie your hair up and wrap a scarf around your head OR wear a shower cap – a shower turban is a stylish alternative that really works! Or, just embrace your inner unicorn or mermaid and love your new multi-colored hair for the next few months 🙂
3. Wear clothes you don’t mind disposing of, but the best would be to wear cheap white clothes. What better to be a blank canvas for all that color? You are going to get color everywhere and all over yourself, so don’t wear anything expensive or fancy. Also, bring replacement clothes to change out of if you plan on going somewhere other than home afterwards.
4. Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes. If you wear prescription lenses, those will get colored too so wrap them in plastic or, better still, bring an old pair you no longer need or love.
5. Wear ear plugs – it will help keep any Holi color powder out of your ears! If it takes months to get color out of your hair, imagine how long it takes to get it out of the crevasses in your ears?
6. If you bring a camera or your phone, wrap it in plastic wrap to protect your lens. You don’t want color powder clouding your lens or expensive gadgets months after the event!
7. Bring towels, wet wipes and a spray bottle of water to wipe yourself down to help you clean up afterwards if you aren’t heading home right away (but you really should).
8. Bring garbage bags to cover up your car seats as a cheap, convenient way to help protect your car. The last thing you want is to go to work or school the next day, just to get your clean clothes covered in color powder on your backside!
9. Bring a cheap clear bag for your phone/wallet etc. to put around your waist or on a lanyard around your neck. Forget bringing your beloved purses and bags because those will get covered in color powder. Or if you think that’s cheesy, wear clothes with zippers so you can store your wallet or phone in a safe spot.
Questions? Contact:
TIFFANY ESCOTT
Mission Advancement and Development Director
SUMMIT AREA YMCA
tiffany.escott@thesay.org
(908)464-8373
SUMMIT AREA YMCA
BERKELEY HEIGHTS YMCA | SUMMIT YMCA | THE LEARNING CIRCLE YMCA
In 1886, we were founded as the Young Men’s Christian Association, but today, we are The Y. An association that values, and is made stronger by, its diverse people. We stand for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility — For a better us. We are committed to creating equal opportunity for all regardless of gender, age, disability, income, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religious affiliation. We strive to create a welcoming and inclusive culture in which our four core values — responsibility, honesty, caring and respect — are integral to everyday operations.
Each year, as one of the area’s leading 501(c)3 charitable organizations, the Summit Area YMCA serves more than 15,000 individuals with our free and fee-based programs and services in an area spanning the New Jersey communities of Berkeley Heights, Gillette, Millburn, New Providence, Short Hills, Springfield, Stirling and Summit. Our history is rooted in working side-by-side with our neighbors to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive. Through the generosity of our members, donors, and partners, we are able to offer financial assistance for our programs and services to those in need.
