Saturday 27th February – Brisbane Holi: Festival of Colours

Brisbane Holi – Colour Everyone Equal

Bronwen and I drove to Rocks Riverside Park shortly after lunch to attend Brisbane Holi. I had been given a ticket as a photographer, but Bronwen didn’t have a ticket and the event was sold out, so we weren’t sure if she’d be able to get in. Unlike previous years when it had been free, this year Coronavirus had forced the organisers to fence off the entire oval and ticket the event. Tickets cost about $12 and came with some colour, which had always cost money in previous years, so they were trying to say it was still effectively a free event—but it wasn’t the same, and the attendance was noticeably lower than previous years.

On the walk from the car to the oval where Holi was being held Bronwen got given a ticket by someone who had an extra one and was leaving, which ironically meant she got in far quicker than I—who had to queue for a while to get my armband.

Despite the fence and numbers being down on previous years, it was still a fantastic festival—easily the more fun annual celebration I know of in Brisbane. Sadly, the rain part of the celebration—where a fire truck sprays everyone with water—didn’t take part, though it did actually rain very slightly towards the end.

After taking many, many photos, Bronwen and I drove home and showered off the colours—our clothes now permanently ruined—though unlike previous years, we both looked reasonably normal after showering.