'Beneath all these colours we are all one': Thousands attend Hindu Holi Festival at Victoria Park
London’s Victoria Park was filled with colours Saturday afternoon as those attending Holi threw coloured water and powders into the air in a celebration of spring and unity.
Holi Festival of Colours organizer Vinod Varapravan explained that Holi is an ancient Hindu tradition.
“It celebrates the coming of spring, the blooming of colours in nature, and the unity and diversity in all of us,” he said.
This is the 12th year for the festival, hosted by the Srishti Foundation. Organizers were expecting more than 4,000 people to take part in the joyous celebration.
In addition to the ‘Riot of Colours,’ music and dance took over the main stage at Victoria Park.
The event featured high energy drummers (Dhol), Bollywood dances and other live performances, along with traditional Ganesh Puja (Ganesha idols offering prayers and distributing sweets).
Varapravan said everyone was welcomed to join in the celebration.
“You see everyone, their faces are all coloured. You couldn’t tell who they are even. The message is that beneath all these colours we are all one. It’s a coming of hope. Bring positive thoughts in, burning negative thoughts away,” he explained.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW 'Oh my God, you're my brother': Manitoba man discovers six unknown siblings
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
No refund for travellers who cancelled flight already scrapped by airline: regulator
Four years on, the controversy over whether airlines owed refunds to passengers after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights during the pandemic continues to simmer, aggravated by a sluggish, opaque complaints process.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Canucks hold off Oilers for 4-3 win in Game 3
Brock Boeser had two goals and an assist, and the Vancouver Canucks hung on for a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise's disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.