News and Information

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 2, 2015

Contact: Chelsea Weber

603-459-3450
cweber5@elon.edu

Elon University hosts a Holi celebration

A traditional Festival of Holi will be held at Elon University this April and will
include speakers, performances and lots of throwing of colored chalk

A Holi celebration will take place at Elon University on Friday, April 17, at 4
p.m. in Young Commons. This event is sponsored by the Truitt Center for
Religious Life at Elon. It will commemorate the Hindu Holi Festival, which
signifies the start of spring and the victory of good over evil.

At Elon, this celebration will

include stories from Hindu
students and faculty members,
a dance performance and the
traditional paint throwing. At
night, there will be an Indian-

themed Shabbat dinner with the Hillel association. The dinner will conclude
with a discussion of Hinduism and Judaism.

Marie Daigle, an Elon sophomore, attended the universitys Holi celebration

last year and encourages people to go to the upcoming festival. People
should go to Holi to gain new experiences and to be able to make a mess
while doing it, she says.

Multiple colors of chalk will be available to color the sky as well as the bodies
of the community members.

The Holi Festival is about bringing together people from all religions,
genders, ages, and economic statuses, Truitt Center employee Elan
Schappler says. When everyone is covered in the bright colored chalk it
makes us all indistinguishable and equal, representing that while we may be
different on the outside we are all the same on the inside. Plus it is fun to
throw chalk at your friends!

The Truitt Center for Religious Life organizes this event. The Truitt Center is
located in the Numen Lumen Pavilion at Elon University. According to the
school website, the Truitt Center enables members of the Elon University
community to learn about their own faiths and to live lives of reconciliation.
You can contact the center by emailing truittcenter@elon.edu.