Index Lawn is surrounded by yellow caution tape and clouds of dust fill the air. Peering through the smoke and haze, students can be seen engaged in playful water balloon fights. Handfuls of colored powder are being thrown from every direction and gradually covering the participating students in spectacular shades of pink, yellow, teal and orange. A DJ played upbeat Bollywood music.

Members of the Indian Student Union (ISU) organized an on-campus Holi celebration, bringing their traditional springtime festivities of color throwing, cultural cuisine and Bollywood dancing to the college. The event happened May 7 on Index Lawn from 2-5 p.m.

This long-awaited and meticulously planned Holi celebration came to life within the first half hour of the three-hour long event. Sumita Singh, the club adviser, said that planning began in February.

“ISU members have been involved in taking care of all Student Life requirements, purchasing colors and water balloons, arranging food for the Holi event, working on the music and dance and advertising the Holi event,” Singh said. “The students have been very busy planning … the first ever Holi event at EvCC.”

During the organization process of the event, Jasmine Bajaj, ISU president, said she was most proud of how ISU members “got the word out” about Holi. She said she was proud of the club’s social media page and all of the promotional videos they made.

In anticipation, some students wondered if Washington weather would cooperate with an outdoor activity. Sage Right, a recent EvCC graduate attending Holi, said he noticed that morning was chilly and gray. “I’m really glad the sun came out for this event in particular,” he said.

“It wouldn’t have been fun if it was cloudy and overcast since we’re throwing water balloons,” Right said, with bright paints smeared across his face and vivid splotches all over his white t-shirt. Before the Holi event, Right said that he had never been to a color-throwing occasion of any kind.

Jesus Palma, a student overseeing the color throwing and water balloons, was also saturated with the Holi colors. Palma said that he didn’t necessarily plan on himself participating in the games because he was a volunteer, “but it was inevitable to get painted.”

Palma values the perspective that students can gain from attending cultural gatherings such as these. “It’s eye-opening to see multiple different cultures and how they celebrate … and how diversifying the campus brings people together,” he said.

While some students were entirely new to Holi, many members of ISU and international exchange students grew up with this holiday as a family tradition. Bajaj said she had participated in the Holi celebration many times. Bajaj said the closest festivities were all the way out in Seattle.

“So why not bring that to Everett?” she added.

Kangna, an international student who moved from India two years ago, also grew up enjoying Holi color throwing. “I’m playing again for the first time in two years, so I’m really excited.” She remembered her favorite part of those past celebrations were the kids and parents. “I used to go with my whole family, I think adults acting childish is the best part.”

Games that are meant to be celebrated with friends, family and community intend to bring out the playful side in people of all ages. Color throwing was open and active for the majority of the event, with almost 30 students counted inside the designated playing area and even more socializing on the nearby outskirts at 2:55 p.m. on May 7.

After five to 10 minutes, the color-throwing almost entirely cleared out. At 3:00 p.m., free Indian food became available across Index Lawn. A long line of hungry students quickly formed in front of the designated food concessions stand. The stand offered a variety of delicious veggie and meat options including shai paneer, garlic naan, samosas, rice and butter chicken. Free snow cones were also available and mango lassi available for purchase throughout Holi at a separate stand.

With bellies full of Indian food, or tuckered out from running wildly through Index Lawn, students were invited to sit down and watch a performance of a traditional Bollywood dance nearing 4:00 p.m. The dance routine was led by Bajaj, ISU Vice President Kayinat Rataul, and Secretary Abhineet Kaur. The choreography lasted around two and a half minutes, but there were three song changes and dancing partners entering halfway through.

The dance came together despite the dancer’s conflicting class schedules which only allowed for four official practices. Bajaj said the group got in as many last-minute sessions as they could to learn their moves.

Club adviser, Sumita Singh, said she is inspired by the commitment and drive of the ISU members. “The greatest joy is to work with this highly-motivated and hard-working group of students. They are committed to promote Indian culture at EvCC,” she said. “It is a pleasure to be a part of their vision and efforts towards this goal.”

On May 7, sun beams shone down on ISU’s first ever Holi event, providing a truly warm welcome to the spring season that connected students through firsthand experiences of Indian culture. The ISU helped people create unforgettable memories for those new and returning to the celebration, with Holi serving as a bright reminder of the community that can be found when the diversity of EvCC’s student body is honored and shared.