Our Bureau
Jersey City, NJ
On Saturday June 14 Jersey City nonprofit organization Surati for Performing Arts will host its 16th annual Surati Holi Hai Color Walk and Festival, one of the largest Spring Festival of Colors celebrations in the tri-state area. This community event is open to people of all ages. The morning Color Walk kicks off the celebration and the Festival continues all day long, with live music, DJs, dance, theatre, and music performances, visual arts exhibitions, plus a bouncy house and rides for children. Holi is a vibrant Indian festival also known as the Festival of Colors, celebrated each year to mark the triumph of good over evil, the end of winter, and the arrival of spring; it is a celebration of community.
Event Details
Surati Holi Hai Color Walk & Festival
Saturday, June 14
Color Walk 9am- noon (meet at Light Rail Station, exact location 40°44’02.6″N 74°01’42.1″W)
Festival noon- 8pm (Exchange Place, Jersey City)
The Festival is FREE but registration is required. There is a registration fee for the Color Walk, which includes a t-shirt, water, and color powder. https://www.suratiholihai.org/registration-tickets/
The Color Walk begins promptly at 9:45 am (meet at 9 am for registration and photos) at the Light Rail station in Hoboken, NJ; participants walk along the Hudson Waterfront to the accompaniment of live music and drums. A celebratory countdown takes place before thousands of revelers toss colorful powder. Color Walk participants are required to register for this part of the festival; for a nominal fee they will receive a T-shirt, a bottle of water, and two packets of color powder. Discounts are available for students, seniors, and group orders. The Color Walk pauses at Newport for dance and yoga workshops and ends at Montgomery Street in Exchange Place, Jersey City, where the all-day free Festival takes place. For additional details, visit suratiholihai.org.
The Holi Hai Festival features dance, theatre, and music performances, DJs, visual arts exhibitions, dancing, plus a bouncy house and rides for children. Food and beverage, from Indian street food to global favorites, are available for purchase. Vendors will also sell arts and crafts, jewelry, and clothing.
Rimli Roy, Creator of the Festival and Artistic Director of Surati for Performing Arts says, “Holi is a true celebration of spring, of joy, and of community. Everyone at Surati for Performing arts is thrilled to host this event each year and I am particularly proud to be presenting our 16th annual Festival. This will be a multicultural celebration of Holi.”
ABOUT SURATI
Surati for Performing Arts is a culture-bearing, non-profit organization that embodies and shares the soul of India, with a contemporary global lens. Led by Executive and Artistic Director Rimli Roy, Surati for Performing Arts is a Jersey City-based, multi-genre arts organization dedicated to the preservation and sharing of Indian culture. At the heart of its creative work are classical Indian dance forms and broader Indian-rooted cultural experiences, which ground and support the various modes of education, community outreach, and cultural experiences that Surati engages in including their Arts-In-Education Program, annual Surati Holi Hai and Color Walk Festival, and their active partnership with Healthier JC designed to promote and support healthy living.
Surati for Performing Arts is committed to sharing South Asian culture in Jersey City, across the U.S., and around the world. Rooted in the rich and vibrant culture of India, Surati for Performing Arts produces an engaging blend of the traditional and the contemporary arts through a wide array of events and experiences. These offerings include dance, music, and theatrical performances; large scale community festivals; events to connect participants with and educate them on Indian cuisine, fashion, music and more; educational programs for all audiences from children to seniors to corporate entities; Ramaavan-A Musical, an evening-length, hybrid dance and musical theater work based on the popular Indian epic “The Ramayana”; and more!
Surati for Performing Arts has built connections with more than 25 U.S. States and 12 countries worldwide. Rimli Roy and the Surati team have performed at nationally renowned venues including The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, The Lincoln Center for Performing Arts, The Library of Congress, Alaska Performing Arts Center, Reichhold Center in the U.S Virgin Islands, and in India. They have received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and The Indian Council for Cultural Relations, and their work has been featured nationally by CNN and NBC. Rimli Roy has received several accolades for her work including the Individual Artist Fellowship Award and a Folk Arts Apprentice award from the NJ State Council on the Arts, a Dance Advancement Fund award from Dance/NYC and a U.S. Artists International award. Her work has been featured in Vogue magazine, The Statesman, and Outlook India.
