ISSUE
Friday, August 15, 2025
Volume 16 . Issue 72
Being organised annually since 2014 by Revel Events—a Christchurch-based event management company—this year's Christchurch Holi, the Indian festival of colours, was the biggest and grandest.
Attended by more than 6,000 people, the free event was supported by Christchurch Multicultural Council (CMC), the Christchurch City Council, Christchurch's new Crown company Otakaro Limited, and Fletcher Living. Another principal sponsor was Yogiji's Food Mart, which supplied colours for the celebrations.
Hitesh Sharma, Co-partner in Revel Events, sharing his joy after a successful event, noted, “It started with a simple idea to create an afternoon full of colours for the Indian community living in Christchurch. Now, it has spread to the wider community, which is very pleasantly surprising for us. It shows that Kiwis are ready to embrace other cultures and experience the diversity of the human race.”
Sandeep Khanna, Creative Director and Co-partner at Revel Events, added, “Apart for a slew of colours, we had [more than] 10 cultural performances. There was also a colour countdown, followed by the matki phod competition, which was won by the University of Canterbury team this time. Prizes for the colouring competition held across Christchurch schools, for which we got [more than] 200 entries, were also given during the day.”
Meanwhile, the organisers also plan to donate a part of the proceeds from colour sales to two charitable causes working for children welfare in India and New Zealand.
On the question of Holi being part of the city's Race Relations Day celebrations as well, Surinder Tandon, President of CMC, added, "Firstly, both Holi and Race Relations Day come during the same month, i.e. March, and secondly but more importantly, they share the common significance of showing respect and equality for diversity in terms of ethnicity, culture, and faith. Thus, Holi is an ideal festival to commemorate and celebrate the New Zealand Race Relations Day, which falls on March 21, every year."
Being organised annually since 2014 by Revel Events—a Christchurch-based event management company—this year's Christchurch Holi, the Indian festival of colours, was the biggest and grandest.
Attended by more than 6,000 people, the free event was supported by Christchurch Multicultural Council...
Being organised annually since 2014 by Revel Events—a Christchurch-based event management company—this year's Christchurch Holi, the Indian festival of colours, was the biggest and grandest.
Attended by more than 6,000 people, the free event was supported by Christchurch Multicultural Council (CMC), the Christchurch City Council, Christchurch's new Crown company Otakaro Limited, and Fletcher Living. Another principal sponsor was Yogiji's Food Mart, which supplied colours for the celebrations.
Hitesh Sharma, Co-partner in Revel Events, sharing his joy after a successful event, noted, “It started with a simple idea to create an afternoon full of colours for the Indian community living in Christchurch. Now, it has spread to the wider community, which is very pleasantly surprising for us. It shows that Kiwis are ready to embrace other cultures and experience the diversity of the human race.”
Sandeep Khanna, Creative Director and Co-partner at Revel Events, added, “Apart for a slew of colours, we had [more than] 10 cultural performances. There was also a colour countdown, followed by the matki phod competition, which was won by the University of Canterbury team this time. Prizes for the colouring competition held across Christchurch schools, for which we got [more than] 200 entries, were also given during the day.”
Meanwhile, the organisers also plan to donate a part of the proceeds from colour sales to two charitable causes working for children welfare in India and New Zealand.
On the question of Holi being part of the city's Race Relations Day celebrations as well, Surinder Tandon, President of CMC, added, "Firstly, both Holi and Race Relations Day come during the same month, i.e. March, and secondly but more importantly, they share the common significance of showing respect and equality for diversity in terms of ethnicity, culture, and faith. Thus, Holi is an ideal festival to commemorate and celebrate the New Zealand Race Relations Day, which falls on March 21, every year."
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