Redmond South Asian Community Celebrates Holi at City Hall and BAPS Devotional Spring Programs
South Asian residents of Redmond, Washington, celebrated the arrival of spring with two landmark community events that together reflect the cultural richness and civic engagement of the Desi population in the greater Seattle area. A free Holi Festival of Color was organized in partnership with Redmond City Hall, offering music, dance, food, and the signature powder-throwing tradition to the broader public. Simultaneously, the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha center on NE 95th Street continued to anchor Hindu devotional and educational life in the community through its calendar of spiritual celebrations and global scriptural examinations.
🎉 Festival of Color Brings Holi to Redmond City Hall
The Hindu spring festival of Holi made a vibrant public statement in Redmond when the Festival of Color was held at Redmond City Hall on Sunday, March 8, in partnership with the City of Redmond. Reported by the Northwest Asian Weekly, the celebration ran from noon to 5 p.m. and featured music, dance performances, food vendors, and color celebrations. Admission was free, though organizers required advance registration for entry and for participation in a raffle drawing. The event was organized by ISKCON of WA. Holi is widely known as the Hindu festival of colors and is a joyful annual celebration at the advent of spring with deep cultural and religious significance. Typically observed in March in India, Nepal, and other South Asian countries, as well as across the diaspora, the festival celebrates love and signifies a time of rebirth and rejuvenation — an opportunity to embrace the positive and let go of negative energy. Among its best-known traditions, celebrants dressed in all white come out to the street to throw colored powders at each other, leaving behind a kaleidoscope of pigments and joy. Festivities with music, dancing, and food follow. Communities across the Seattle area organized a series of color festivals for the spring season, with the Redmond City Hall event serving as the first major scheduled gathering in the region. [2]
🪔 BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha Redmond Hosts Women's Celebration and Global Satsang Exams
The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha center at 15440 NE 95th Street in Redmond, Washington, has continued to serve as a cornerstone of Hindu devotional and educational life for South Asian families in the greater Seattle area. The center, reachable at +1 (425) 780-7140, hosts a sustained calendar of spiritual, cultural, and educational programs grounded in the traditions of the Swaminarayan faith. One of the most celebrated events of the spring season was the Women's Celebration of Shri Swaminarayan Jayanti and Ram Navami, held on Saturday, March 28, 2026. Women of the BAPS community gathered for a vibrant cultural program honoring the birth anniversaries of Bhagwan Swaminarayan and Bhagwan Ram. The event reflected themes of devotion, unity, and rich spiritual tradition, bringing together women across generations to observe two of the most significant days in the Swaminarayan calendar. On the educational front, the Global Satsang Exams conducted in March 2026 saw results published on Sunday, May 24, 2026, while the Bal Satsang Exam results for the same examination period were released on Friday, May 15, 2026. These exams assess devotees' knowledge of Hindu scripture and the teachings of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, and are administered globally by BAPS as part of the organization's ongoing commitment to passing spiritual knowledge to the next generation. The Redmond center is part of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, which has operated continuously since 1999. [1]
Sources: [2] Northwest Asian Weekly · [1] BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha