Holi is a Hindu holiday that announces the arrival of spring. It is often celebrated with people covering each other in vivid powdered paints.

Cleveland Documenter Gennifer Harding-Gosnell and some of her friends attended the Holi celebration at Sree Venkateswara Temple in Richfield. The festival was hosted by the Indian Community Organization of Greater Akron (ICAGA) and the Federation of India Communities Association in Cleveland (FICA), with a $10 ticket covering your paint and a plate of food.  

Holi festival celebrations get under way at the Sree Venkateswara Temple in Richfield, Ohio. Credit: Gennifer Harding-Gosnell
Holi festival celebrations get under way at the Sree Venkateswara Temple in Richfield, Ohio. Credit: Gennifer Harding-Gosnell
Party goers dance to techno music on the lawn during Holi celebrations at the Sree Venkateswara Temple in Richfield.
Party goers dance to techno music on the lawn during Holi celebrations at the Sree Venkateswara Temple in Richfield. Credit: Gennifer Harding-Gosnell
The paint is called "gulal", it's dyed cornstarch and it will stain your hair and clothes, so it's recommended you wear clothes you don’t mind getting stained. The traditional color of clothes to wear to a Holi event is white.
The paint is called “gulal”, it’s dyed cornstarch and it will stain your hair and clothes, so it’s recommended you wear clothes you don’t mind getting stained. The traditional color of clothes to wear to a Holi event is white. Credit: Gennifer Harding-Gosnell
Holi is traditionally celebrated on the last full moon day of the Hindu luni-solar calendar month. This year, it was March 25. According to Shekhar Ganore of FICA, because nice weather is needed for the events, Indian diasporas in Ohio usually hold their Holi celebrations in April or May when the weather tends to be more agreeable.
Holi is traditionally celebrated on the last full moon day of the Hindu luni-solar calendar month. This year, it was March 25. According to Shekhar Ganore of FICA, because nice weather is needed for the events, Holi celebrations in Ohio are usually held in April or May when the weather tends to be more agreeable. Credit: Gennifer Harding-Gosnell
Ahila Karunagaran of Cleveland with her son, Jayen, at the Holi celebration.
Ahila Karunagaran of Cleveland with her son, Jayen, at the Holi celebration. Credit: Gennifer Harding-Gosnell
The Sree Venkateswara Temple in Richfield, Ohio.
The Sree Venkateswara Temple in Richfield, Ohio. Credit: Gennifer Harding-Gosnell
Satish, who is part of the Indian diaspora in Northeast Ohio, took the lead in turning the lawn into a nightclub.
Satish took the lead in turning the lawn into a nightclub. Credit: Gennifer Harding-Gosnell
Paint everywhere. These girls went through half a bag of gulal just on each other.
Paint everywhere. These girls went through half a bag of gulal just on each other. Credit: Gennifer Harding-Gosnell
Old friends and new: Cleveland Documenter Gennifer Harding-Gosnell with her friends and The Lotus’ Editor-in-Chief Deepa Rao.
Old friends and new: Cleveland Documenter Gennifer Harding-Gosnell with her friends and The Lotus’ Editor-in-Chief Deepa Rao. Credit: Deepa Rao

Correction: This article was updated to clarify that Holi is a Hindu holiday.

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I create audio stories meant to engage and inform people in a way that pushes beyond media stereotypes. I aim to build trust between local media and the community, striving to teach people “how” to think about life in Cleveland, not “what” to think.