PHOTO: Hindu and Jewish families enjoy colored face paints at the joint Purim/Holi celebration hosted by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland and Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh Sunday, Mar. 17, 2024 at Congregation Neveh Shalom. The event returns for its second year Mar. 16 in partnership with Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District. (Rockne Roll/Jewish Review file)

By ROCKNE ROLL
The Jewish Review
Back for a second year, Portland’s joint Purim/Holi celebration is set to be bigger, better, and more colorful.
The event, co-hosted by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh and the Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District, is set for Sunday, Mar. 16 from 2-4 pm at the Conestoga Recreation and Aquatic Center in Beaverton. 
“They have been an incredible partner in securing the space,” Federation Director of Educational Initiatives and Associate Director of Community Relations Rachel Nelson said of THPRD.
The new facility will provide a kitchen area to bring fresh-baked hamantaschen to this year’s celebration as well as outdoor space to make use of the powdered colors that are a signature of Holi, the Hindu observance of the coming of spring. The collaboration with the Parks District came through a cold call from THPRD to Nelson’s office. 
“They just wanted to reach out  to the Jewish community and see if there were any points of collaboration,” Nelson said. “So many of our Hindu community partners live in the Beaverton area, so it’s a great opportunity to showcase what THPRD has to offer, as well as being physically close to many of our participants who attend the program.”
Last year’s inaugural event, held at Congregation Neveh Shalom, was a product of the ongoing Hindu/Jewish Community Dialogue and served to further enhance to connection between the two communities.
“I think both communities didn’t realize how many similarities there were,” explained Ajay Vangapaty, a member of HSS who is helping organize this year’s celebration. “I think the one problem we have in America with such a diverse community is that there’s always this factor of an unknown, and then when you see somebody kind of doing the same thing, it cuts through all of that.”
Vangapaty  explained that Holi is deeply connected not only to the changing of the seasons but to a sense of renewal and moving forward.
“The festival revolves around a giant bonfire, where the bonfire is symbolic of burning away the last year’s baggage; negative energy, negative thoughts, negativity in general. In Hindu philosophy, fire is always seen as a purifier,” Vangapaty explained. “It also marks the victory of righteousness over evil in a lot of the Hindu stories as well. It also signifies that spring is here. So, it’s kind of a tri-fold connection”
The celebration of spring is where the colors come in.
“We may not look at mid-March as end of winter, but in the Indian subcontinent, definitely winter is over and behind us. Let’s get away from the gloominess and open up to, beautiful sunrises and sunsets and colors for a few months before the monsoons come,” Vangapaty continued. “The traditional reasoning is pretty much that. Let’s just add more color to our lives.”
“One thing that we noticed last year was there are a lot of similar similarities between the Purim story and the Holi story,” Nelson said. “This is a great opportunity to showcase our two cultures in relation to what we have in common, even though we have a lot of things that are different about our communities.”
In addition to fresh-from-the-oven hamantaschen, this year’s celebration will also include a staged performance of the Purim story from Federation Director of Jewish Life and Learning Dr. Yosef Rosen. 
Preregistration is required, free, and available online at jewishportland.org/purimholi.