By Daniel Paniagua

SPANISH FORK, Utah – On Saturday, over 75,000 young adults crowded the Krishna temple in Spanish Fork for the annual Festival of Colors.

“There were so many people there that I couldn’t move,” said Kathryn Lowry, “I’ve never been anywhere in my life where there were so many people in one place”.

According to various college students such as 20-year-old Kaitlin Thomas from BYU, Festival of Colors, otherwise known as Holi, has become an annual event that “everyone” attends every year.

“Everyone that I pretty much know goes… It is an event that all my friends and I look forward to,” says college student, Thomas, “I mean, who doesn’t like colored powder thrown at them?”

Most young adults would agree with Thomas, however, there are those who were skeptical of the “fun” behind colored powder being tossed. Twenty-two-year old Richard Loveridge felt somewhat hesitant to participate in the festival but soon came to realize why it is such a “popular” event.

“At first I was a bit skeptical about the whole throwing colors around in a field but I soon came to realize what the hype was all about,” said Loveridge, “It was fun!”

While many young adults go to throw brightly colored powder at one another, there are those who come for the Indian food and bands like Jai Uttal and the Queen of Hearts Orchestra, The Mayapuris and The Kirtaniya Vibrations.

Daryl Jay Lenhart, 23-year-old from the Salt Lake area brought his family for the first time and intends to bring them back the following years to come.

“The food was incredible, we had spiced mangos and vegetable curries,” said Lenhart, “the bands were actually very good as well, in fact my family and I spent the majority of the time eating and dancing. Throwing colored powder was fun but the food and music was the highlight of the festival.”

After the Festival of Colors ended, the participants carefully entered the car and “anxiously waited in endless traffic to go home and take a shower” according to Loveridge. This year, the Krishnas had planned and made arrangements to host a larger crowd than last year’s event. However, some of the participants were not sure if they had planned for quite large enough of a crowd.

“The traffic was miserable,” said Lenhart, “I waited for more than an hour before I could actually move my car.”

Spanish Fork is now the biggest Holi festival in the Western Hemisphere according to ISKCON News. Another Festival of Colors will take place at the Krishna temple in Salt Lake City on April 14^th, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.