Aishwarya Dhananjay
Holi is a festival that fills your heart with warmth, joy, and endless happiness. In Holi every splash of color reminds you of how much life and relationships mean to you. Life is the most beautiful when it’s painted in all the colors of love. Every year Chinmaya Mission Portland (CMP) in collaboration with Tualatin Hills Park and recreation district (THPRD) brings the greater Portland community together to organize a community Holi celebration to celebrate the festival of colors and greatness of Indian culture. Our volunteers spend hours organizing the event year after year and whole color distribution coordination for 3000 plus community members is fun but difficult. It is so wonderful to see little ones running behind our volunteers for the colors. We have an amazing DJ blasting popular Indian songs which makes the entire group groove with happiness and is an absolute delight seeing 1000s of people covered in colors singing and dancing and expressing fun. People of all age groups forget everything for a couple of hours and bring out the inner child in them. The highlight of this event is the food mela organized by our volunteers. We make and sell fresh and tasty 1000 plus plates of Indian street food and 200 cups of chai to raise money for the charitable work done by Chinmaya Mission Portland. The food menu is extensive and our own master chefs make sure the food is yummy, safe and caters to participants of all age groups. The aroma of the food in the air draws huge crowds and the food is always completely sold out. The community members support our event and enjoy being part of it. 3000 plus people from all over the world from different cultures and faith join us in this huge celebration. THPRD enjoys working with CMP and is amazed by the professionalism and dedication of our volunteers and admire our volunteers’ selfless dedication and efforts in bringing the community together. Our Holi celebration sprinkles your soul with colors and makes you vibrant.