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RICHMOND HILL, UNITED STATES, April 11, 2005: Phagwah is the Indo-Caribbean celebration of spring known as Holi in India. Local celebrations vary, and always color plays a big role. Indians who went to the Caribbean as indentured laborers in the 19th and early 20th century brought the holiday to Guyana, Surinam and Trinidad. Since 1970 many Guyanese emigrated to the United States, especially to Richmond Hill and Jamaica in Queens and brought the Phagwah tradition to their new home. At the start of the annual Phagwah Parade in Richmond Hill Sunday afternoon, event organizers faced scheduling problems, bad weather and a police crackdown on the custom of throwing colored powder because of terrorism concerns. But while the hindrances initially seemed to dampen the enthusiasm of onlookers, by the time the parade route concluded at an area park, thousands upon thousands of participants celebrated with unbridled glee. The festival has been held in Richmond Hill for 16 years. This year the holiday fell on the same weekend as Easter.



Since Sept. 11, 2001, and the subsequent anthrax scares, police have been concerned the powder could be a cover for a biological attack. While authorities and community leaders sought restrictions last year, they were largely ignored and the event went off safely. As the dozen or so floats lined up for this year’s parade at Liberty Avenue with intermittent rain and 40-degree temperatures, officers confiscated bags of powder and made participants dump out Super Soakers filled with colored water. They said the materials would unofficially be allowed later in the park, but their actions on Liberty Avenue took many by surprise where the level of enthusiasm appeared low. “It has made it less fun,” said Prakash Persaud, assistant principal of Richmond Hill High School. “The restrictions do suppress the exuberance. But as the floats turned off the main commercial strip on Liberty Avenue, officers seemed to lose interest and running street battles developed as friends and family tried to smear each other with the pink, orange, yellow and purple powders. At Smokey Oval Park, end of the route, festival-goers gathered to watch dancing and hear drumming, the crowd less than the 50,000 from years past but still an estimated 25,000 strong. A white powder dust from shaken containers enveloped the air. Pandit Chunell, a parade marshal, said he was proud so many young people had shown up to carry on the cultural tradition. And he said he still enjoyed the day’s celebration.

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