Holi Festival of Colors in Utah Guide: Experience + Tips
The Holi Festival of Colors in Spanish Fork, Utah outside of Salt Lake City is the largest Holi celebration in the United States, and is said to be the biggest Holi festival in the world! The festival attracts thousands of visitors from across the country, now nearly 100,000 people over the 2-day event.
The Festival of Colors in Spanish Fork is held at the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple. This temple is absolutely beautiful and adds to the grandeur of the festival. It could make you believe for almost a moment that you are in India celebrating Holi.
Since the festival’s success in Spanish Fork, it has spread to other nearby cities in Utah, Nevada, and California. Check the Festival of Colors website to see if there is an event near you!
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What is Holi Festival?
Most people may recognize the striking photos of colorful powders being thrown in large groups of people as being Holi Festival. But beyond that, I admit that I knew little about Holi and its background before attending the Festival of Colors in Utah. So here is a brief overview.
Holi (pronounced “holy”) is a popular Hindu festival known as the Indian “festival of colors”, the “festival of spring”, or the “festival of love”. Holi announces the arrival of spring and the end of winter and is a celebration of new beginnings. It unites people together and is a time to leave old resentments behind. The vibrant colors are used to bring positivity and joy into our lives. There are many ways Holi is celebrated around the world. But above all, Holi is a time of oneness and brotherhood that brings people together in merriment.
Holi has an ancient history derived from several legends. One popular legend says that Holi celebrates the burning of the evil Holika. Holika was the sister of the demon king Hiranya Kashipu, who tried to claim supremacy over the universe after defeating the gods. The demon king was enraged by his son’s devotion to Lord Vishnu and asked his sister Holika to burn the son alive, but a divine intervention saved the boy and burned Holika instead. Another celebrates the the legend of Radha and Krishna and the joy Krishna had in applying color on Radha and other gopis. Krishna’s prank became tradition and a part of the Holi festivities.
Learn more about Holi
Getting There
While the Holi Festival of Colors takes place in Spanish Fork, the closest city to fly into easily is Salt Lake City, Utah. Fly into Salt Lake City International Airport. It’s a pretty small airport (compared to where I was coming from at least – LAX) and we got in and out pretty quickly. Even on our way back home, TSA didn’t take longer than 15 minutes to get through.
From Salt Lake City International Airport it’s a 55 minute drive to Spanish Fork, or a 50 minute drive to Springdale if you stay at the Mountain View Inn (read below). I would recommend renting a car at the airport for your stay in Utah. There really isn’t much in the way of public transportation in the area. From my searching, it seemed the best option was a 2 hour bus ride via Greyhound from Salt Lake City to Spanish Fork.
Links
Salt Lake City International Airport website
SLC Airport Rental Cars
Where to Stay
For our long weekend in Utah, we stayed at the Best Western Mountain View Inn and I would highly recommend it. It’s located in Springville, UT and is only about a 14 minute drive to the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple. The close location was very convenient on the day of the festival.
The hotel and rooms are very nice and modern, the room was spacious and clean with a huge TV, and the bed was very comfortable. Plus, they have a complimentary breakfast that was super delicious. Each morning of our stay they had rotating food options which were always fresh and hot. But the best part about this hotel was its incredible view of the surrounding mountains right outside our window. I was really impressed by the value of this hotel for the low price.
Plus, just down the road from the hotel is a pasture with cows and horses. Yay animals!
Book your stay: Best Western Mountain View Inn Hotels.com
What to bring to the Holi Festival
Here is a list of things I would recommend bringing to the Holi Festival of Colors. If you have a bag they will search it at the entrance. So if possible, I would recommend bringing only the bare essentials that will fit in your pockets.
White clothing. A somewhat warm outfit as it’s only early spring at the time of the Holi Festival in Utah. So a cheap white sweatshirt would be perfect. People traditionally wear white clothing to Holi. This is for two main reasons: white is the color of peace and happiness (and the Holi Festival is all about wiping away negativity) and because it shows off the vibrant colors better! Just don’t wear your favorite white T-shirt – the colored powders may stain the clothing you wear to the festival. But then you’ll have yourself a fun, colorful souvenir!
Face mask. Or some kind of face-coverage. This isn’t a must, as the colored powder is non-toxic, but you still probably shouldn’t be breathing a ton of it in. We bought bandanas to wrap around our faces under our eyes. Inside the festival, I saw other people with bandanas, actual face masks, and even a steampunk-looking gas mask.
Eye protection. You don’t want to get the powder in your eyes. And if the weather is sunny, sunglasses can kill two birds with one stone! I would recommend bringing cheap sunglasses. I forgot mine and had to wear my Ray Bans… Luckily the powder wiped off pretty easily.
Printed ticket. Or cash to buy a ticket at the entrance.
Cash. There are vendors inside the festival selling cool merchandise and there are FOOD TRUCKS! These were mostly selling a variety of Indian cuisine (that all smelled amazing).
Phone (in a protective pouch or Ziploc bag, inside your pocket). If you’re going with a group at least a couple of people should have their phones. The festival gets really crowded and it’s easy to get separated.
Camera of some kind (at your own risk). A GoPro camera would be ideal if you have one since they’re made to get down and dirty. We brought ours but I forgot to bring the MicroSD card (WHYY Linny?!) and ended up using Peter’s phone to take pictures. He would take it out quickly to get a shot and immediately put it back in his pocket. Even so, at the end of the day, the charging port was full of colored powder… Luckily it all came out but it was a risk! If you can bring a camera, there are a lot of amazing picture taking opportunities at the Holi Festival thanks to the colorful powder.
Seat covers for the drive home. Especially if it’s a rental car! Plastic bags or towels will do just fine. We totally forgot this and had to clean the seats of the car afterward. Learn more our mistake.
What NOT to bring
Now here is a list of things I would NOT recommend bringing to the Holi Festival of Colors. Keep in mind that anything that you bring has the potential to be ruined by the colored powder at the Holi Festival. Leave anything that you don’t need inside the festival in your car or at home.
Expensive cameras like DSLRs. Unless you have some way to protect it like a professional grade, dust-tight protective kit. But it’s still risky. I saw people there with only Ziploc bags over their expensive gear and it frightened me!
Other electronics. The colored powder is very fine and will get into things and ruin them.
Nice clothing, shoes, or accessories that you don’t want to be stained.
Contacts. Don’t wear contacts because if the powder gets in them, or gets under them, it will seriously irritate your eyes.
Outside color powders will be confiscated – you can only use the ones bought from the festival.
Alcohol or drugs. Don’t bring it!
Tips for Holi Festival
Here are some tips that I picked up from my experience at the Holi Festival. Read more tips on the Holi Festival of Colors FAQ page.
$5 Parking close to the Festival. The Holi Festival of Colors website says that there is street parking available for free, but this fills up quickly. Close to the temple there were several private properties who had opened up their land as parking for the festival at $5 per vehicle. They even accepted Venmo! This was very convenient and a short walk to the festival entrance.
Go earlier in the day to avoid waiting in line. We went around 11am and were only in line to get into the festival for about 10 minutes. By the time we left around 2pm, the line was insanely long.
The colored powder may stain. Your clothing, your bags, anything you have with you. But afterward, I learned that the powder only has the tendency to stain after it gets wet. So try to shake off as much as possible before washing if you don’t want it to stain.
The colors might even dye your hair! Specifically, if you’re blonde like me. We went with a large group of people with dark brown to light brown hair, and I was the only one whose hair was stained. And it took about two weeks for the color to fade from my hair. Try to shake out as much as possible before showering so you have a better chance of not dying your hair pink.
If you get overwhelmed by crowds, stay to the side. Right in front of the temple, there is a stage with live music and this is where the big crowd gathers. It can become tightly packed and a little overwhelming for some. I personally had more fun watching than being inside the crowd anyway – it’s a much better view of the colors being thrown into the air!
Don’t throw the powder at people’s faces. Especially their eyes, ears, and mouth. Be polite and respectful. And you never know who may have asthma or could be allergic to corn starch.
Holi Festival of Colors Experience
This year we flew into Utah for a long weekend to experience the Holi Festival of Colors in Spanish Fork. During late March when the festival takes place, spring is just beginning in Utah. The mountains were snow-capped and added to the wonder of the festival.
The Holi Festival of Colors is a two-day event, taking place on Saturday and Sunday and beginning at 10am each day. We chose to go on Saturday. After getting dressed in our white outfits that we had bought at Target the night before, we made our way to the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple. Finding parking was easy as we parked in one of the $5 privately owned lots near the festival. We got there early around 11am and didn’t have to wait in line very long at all. As people were exiting the festival, a few threw their leftover colors at us. So try to get your all-white “before” photo before getting to the temple if you want one!
Inside the Festival
At the entrance you just show them your ticket, they will give you a wristband and search your bag if you have one. Here you also pick up the colored powder if you bought it with your tickets or purchase some. Then you’re in! Inside the festival, it’s a bit of a free-for-all with random strangers throwing colors at you. It’s all a part of the fun. We walked around and admired the temple while waiting for the top of the hour.
At the top of every hour they did a countdown, and at the end of the countdown, everyone threw colored powder into the air. That’s where all of those amazing photos and videos of the Holi Festival come from. Since we were there for a few hours, we made sure to experience one of these countdowns outside of the crowd to get a good view and one from inside the heart of the crowd. Both were a ton of fun!
Along with the temple itself and the stage area, there are food trucks, vendors, and even some animals inside the festival. The vendors were at booths selling clothing, accessories, and souvenirs. The food trucks were selling a variety of Indian cuisine which smelled delicious, but we didn’t try any as the lines were long. And yes, I said there are animals! The Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple has a few llamas and peacocks in pens near the temple. It was fun taking a break from color-throwing to visit these cute critters.
By the time we left, we were all covered from head to toe in colored powder. There was not an inch of our bodies left unscathed. We had spent about 3 hours at the festival and it would have been easy to spend more time there in my opinion. It was a ton of fun and I would definitely go again.
After the Holi Festival
After getting back to the hotel, we threw our powder-covered clothing directly into a grocery bag, wrapped it up tight, and put it into our luggage. Then we washed ourselves off. The colored powder actually stained the shower of our hotel room! We asked the hotel staff about it and luckily they said that they were prepared for that as it happens every year and most of their guests are coming for the Holi Festival.
Besides attending the Holi Festival of Colors on Saturday, we spent our long weekend in Utah hiking the still-snowy trails of the nearby mountains and exploring a little of the surrounding towns. The weather was beautiful and it was a wonderful escape from reality. Up in the mountains it was so quiet that you could hear your own heart beat – you can’t get that in the hustle and bustle of Southern California!
Are you going to the Holi Festival of Colors?
Will you be attending the Holi Festival of Colors in Spanish Fork or another city? Tell me in the comments below! If you missed this year’s events, don’t worry. They hold them every year and they are only continuing to grow in popularity. Watch the Holi Festival of Colors website for dates and locations of upcoming events.
I hope that you found this guide to the Holi Festival of Colors helpful. If you have any questions about my experience, please leave them in the comments and I will do my best to help. Make sure to pin this post and save it for later using one of the Pinterest images below and share this post with your travel buddy using the social icons. Follow Adventures with Pinny on Instagram and Facebook to stay up to date on further guides and travel posts. Thank you!
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