Redmond BAPS mandir marks Diwali and Ram Navami as Holi returns across greater Seattle
The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Redmond anchored the local Hindu calendar with a Diwali and Annakut celebration in October 2025 and a women's cultural program honoring Swaminarayan Jayanti and Ram Navami in March 2026, while Holi festivals drew South Asian communities and wider audiences across western Washington.
🪔 BAPS Mandir in Redmond hosts Diwali, Annakut, and Swaminarayan Jayanti celebrations
The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, located at 15440 NE 95th Street in Redmond, Washington and reachable at (425) 780-7140, hosted a Diwali and Annakut Celebration on Saturday, October 18, 2025. A 46-photograph gallery of the event was published on the mandir's website. BAPS, the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha, is a global Hindu organization with roots in the Swaminarayan tradition and a strong following among the Gujarati diaspora; the Redmond mandir serves as the Seattle area's principal BAPS center for worship, religious education, and community programming. Diwali marks the Hindu Festival of Lights, while the Annakut component — observed on the first day of the Hindu new year, the day following Diwali — is a Swaminarayan devotional practice involving the communal preparation and display of a large variety of vegetarian foods before the deity as an expression of gratitude, generosity, and spiritual devotion. In March 2026, the Redmond mandir's women's wing presented a Shri Swaminarayan Jayanti and Ram Navami celebration on Saturday, March 28. BAPS described the event as a vibrant cultural program honoring the birth anniversaries of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, the eighteenth-century founder of the Swaminarayan faith, and Bhagwan Ram, a revered deity in the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. The program was characterized as reflecting devotion, unity, and rich spiritual traditions. The mandir also participates in BAPS's global system of Satsang Exams, administered to assess members' knowledge of Swaminarayan scripture and spiritual teachings. Results for the March 2026 global Satsang Exam session were published on Sunday, May 24, 2026, and results for the Bal Satsang Exams — taken by younger community members — from the same March 2026 session were released separately on Friday, May 15, 2026. [1]
🎉 Holi color festivals spread across Seattle area for the 2026 spring season
The Northwest Asian Weekly reported in a March 6, 2026, article that color festivals marking Holi were scheduled across the Seattle area, reflecting the growing presence of the Hindu spring festival in western Washington. Holi, described by the publication as widely known as the Hindu festival of colors, is observed annually at the arrival of spring and carries both cultural and religious significance rooted in South Asia. The article noted that the festival is typically observed in March across India, Nepal, and other South Asian countries, and has traveled with diaspora communities to cities and regions around the world including the Pacific Northwest. According to the Northwest Asian Weekly, Holi celebrates themes of love and marks a time of rebirth and rejuvenation — a season to embrace the positive and release the negative. The festival's most widely recognized tradition brings participants dressed in white to outdoor public spaces where they throw brightly colored dry powders at one another. The publication described the visual result as a kaleidoscope of pigments and joy, with the color events accompanied by music, dancing, and communal food. The article organized local event previews under a section titled 'Holi in western Washington,' indicating that multiple venues across the state were hosting celebrations for the 2026 spring season. The greater Seattle area — including Eastside communities such as Redmond, Bellevue, and Kirkland where South Asian technology workers and their families form one of the largest diaspora concentrations in the Pacific Northwest — has become a prominent hub for Holi celebrations. The Northwest Asian Weekly positioned its March 6 article to help readers plan participation in upcoming 2026 events, emphasizing both the religious significance of Holi and its crossover appeal as a participatory celebration drawing attendees from beyond the South Asian community. [3]
Sources: [1] BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha · [3] Northwest Asian Weekly