Herd Holi festival to bring color to campus for third year

Marshall University’s INTO, in partnership with the Campus Activities Board, Housing and Residence Life and International Student Services, will be on Buskirk Field Friday for Herd Holi.

The annual Herd Holi event will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Holi is a Hindu spring festival celebrated in India, also known as the “Festival of Colors” or “Festival of Love.” Holi announces the passing of winter and the arrival of spring.

Kenny Jones, student engagement coordinator for INTO Marshall, said the celebration is traditionally held in March, but is pushed until late April because of nicer weather.

“This year we focused on getting more departments involved,” Jones said. “Herd Holi had been created before I started working at INTO and last year was the first year that I helped implement it. Seeing the students enjoy such a wonderful cultural experience is what I enjoy most. This is a time when domestic and international students come together to share an experience. The act of throwing colors in celebration of Holi is great to watch.”

Herd Holi is an event that allows students to have one last “hoo-rah” before everyone leaves for summer. The event includes music and dancing for the first part of Holi as the color celebration is being set up.

“Working with the students this year and seeing them actively engaged on campus is something I’ve enjoyed the most this school year,” Jones said. “The INTO students have come to so many events over the course of the 16-17 school year, both INTO events and other campus events. It pleases me to see them branch out and want to experience new things with both international students and domestic students.”

Thanks to collaborating with other departments, CAB was able to secure 100 free t-shirts to the first 100 students to come to the event.

INTO events are open to all students on campus and INTO will continue to host events over the summer for students who are on campus or still in the Huntington area.

Christian Davis can be contacted at [email protected].