Julieta Chiaramonte

HUMA-1010-Sp16
Inst. Peterson
14 April 2016
Civic Engagement Project: Holi Krishna Festival of Colors
For my civic engagement, I chose to attend the Festival of Colors
on March 27, 2016 in Spanish Fork, Utah (12pm-4pm). I chose to
attend this event in specific since Hinduism and Krishna really captured
my interest during our polytheistic module. Holi, as celebrated in India,
is a festival to welcome spring and celebrate its life, which is why they
celebrate with music and throw around such vibrant colors! I arrived to
a beautiful temple, loud and vibe filled music, and people near and far
from Salt Lake City dancing with each other, throwing beautiful chalk,
and embracing the new culture. Although parking took up a big chunk
of time, my best friend and I came wearing all white, and a bandana
(advised so we wouldn't breathe in chalk). As we entered, we
purchased our bags of chalk, and moved towards the stage listening to
the loud music. Then the counts began, people screaming and creating
a cloud of color above me. People of all religions were involved, even
many of my dear LDS friends that I grew up with. This temple in
Spanish Fork, Utah opened its doors and welcomed everybody who
wished to a beautiful gathering to experience music, culture, and
practices many of us don't have the opportunity to experience.
The reason I chose this event was to explore religion in Utah.
During out polytheism module, we had a video relating the Krishna
Temple to Utah religion. Although Utah does not have a massive
Krishna following, I was impressed with the masses of people that
came. Living in the Utah Bubble, I did not expect so much
participation from so many different types of religions, especially my
LDS counterparts. It was a neutral event that let everyone come
together and enjoy a cultural experience. I have the ohm symbol
tattooed on myself, which attracted the attention and praise of many
people there. The symbol symbolizes the major Hindu gods, being a
mantra sound to the Hindu religion. This brought many intelligent
conversations with some of those around me regarding my openness
to the religion, introduction to polytheism and the world around me, as
well as invites to participate in future services. I do not identify with
any religion, but the Festival of Colors provided an open door to
anyone who chose to enjoy. I admired the ability of the Krishna temple
to hold such a peaceful event that is culturally educational to those
who may not branch out very often.

I feel my participation in this event made me a responsible

citizen in terms of freedom of religion. I strongly believe you should not
judge something you havent experienced for yourself. This festival
helped submerge me into a small taste of India, all at the comfort of a
30-minute drive from my house. I experienced similar times during my
recent trip to Thailand, exploring Hindu temples with many of the same
statues and symbols, such as the Ohm and Lord Ganesha. It introduces
a new ideology to people who are accustomed to Christ driven
religions, a new space to think. Polytheism offers different ideas of how
our creation story came to be, through lords, multiple gods,
embodiments of elements through humans, and insight to a lengthy
religious past in our world. This event did promote the religious
freedom of Krishna in Utah, since the community came together to
support a vital celebration of their religion. What made it so successful
is that the event was not put to push religion or ideas, but rather to
bring together strangers and celebrate a century old tradition. As
Americans I feel its important to be cultured in the famous melting pot.
We have such an abundance of races, religions, and practices that are
openly at our disposal, so it is vital we take steps to explore and
respect those around us.
I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed my experience in the
Festival of Colors. It was accessible, well articulated, affordable, and
had many arts to explore such as small vendors, art, music, crafts, ect.
It was appropriate for all ages and embodied a child like vibe, very free
in nature and full of happiness. I would love to attend this festival
again, and hopefully will be able to attend the upcoming Festival of
Colors in Salt Lake City (May 7). They also hold a festival in Ogden,
which would be interesting to see the turnout due to their smaller
demographic. On their website I also saw a location in Vegas, which I
wouldn't mind making the trip for! After such an eccentric experience
this actually motivates me to research the actual festival in India, and
what it would take to attend. It would be an honor to participate in the
real festival, where thousands of years of history unfold.