REDMOND, Wash. — It's the Northwest's most colorful celebration.
The Festival of Colors has brought a rainbow of joy to Redmond's Marymoor Park for more than a decade.
"Bigger and bigger and bigger," said Latha Sambamurti, the artistic director of the festival and a board member of NorthWest Share, the nonprofit organization that produces the event. "It is a non-profit organization, and 100% run by volunteers."
"We had at least 12,000 people that registered to come," NorthWest Share president Harry Terhanian added. "And we had to stop the registration because it's going to overwhelm Marymoor Park."
The massive party marks the Hindu holiday known as Holi, a celebration of love and the arrival of spring.
"Family fun. Clean fun," Terhanian said. "This brings people and the regeneration after a tough winter."
"They dance, they sing, and they eat together," Sambamurti said.
Throughout the day, more than 10,000 revelers count down in unison to a blast of color.
"They throw all colors on people and they just enjoy (themselves) together," Sambamurti said.
The vibrant dust, called gulal, is plant-based, non-toxic, and washes out with soap and water, so no one, including kids and pets, escapes unpainted.
And no one leaves un-fed, either.
"We have our own food court," Terhanian explained, gesturing toward a huge set-up of tents and tables serving up vegetarian favorites.
While the festival has its roots in the South Asian community, everyone is welcome at this free event.
"When you throw colors on people, you can't know the difference between people, and colors, right?" Sambamurti said. "We all become one."
"A celebration of spring as well as a celebration of goodness," Terhanian said.
It's a place where people of every color can come together in a party of many colors.
"There's no violence. There's no hatred. It's just joy, happiness, and everyone well-wishing each other," Terhanian said. "This is what makes humanity."
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