NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Colorful Phagwah Parade, display of Hindu and Indo-Caribbean traditions, sees first-ever LGBT participation in annual romp through Queens BY JOE STEPANSKY DENIS SLATTERY Saturday, March 26, 2016, 2:31 PM DAVID WEXLER/FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Children participate in the Phagwah Parade. Spring received a colorful, inclusive welcome in Queens Saturday . The Phagwah […]
Spring received a colorful, inclusive welcome in Queens Saturday .
The Phagwah Parade, a jubilant display of Indo-Caribbean culture and Hindu traditions, filled the streets of Richmond Hill with a rainbow of colored powder, floats and, for the first time, rainbow flags.
In a historic move, an LGBT group openly marched in the parade.
Greg Chan, 37, said the group’s inclusion inspired him to join the festivities for the first time in years.
“I haven’t been out since high school,” Chan said. “I wanted to bring my boyfriend so he could experience the holiday. This is great, it brings everyone together. Hopefully, if there’s somebody who’s in the closet they’ll see this and realize we are accepting.”
The annual cavalcade of color, also known as Holi, is based on an ancient Hindu spring festival celebrating renewal.
Revelers packed the streets, many dressed in white, and bombarded one another with colored powder and water.
The springtime ritual has been held in Queens for close to 30 years, with the exception of last year when it was canceled due to internal strife between warring organizing committees. A judge earlier this month ordered the two sides to host this year’s event as a joint effort.
Gail Huggins, 50, a banking investor from Bergen County N.J., said she looks forward to the parade each year.
Her family is from Guyana and Trinidad.
“We come here to get great food, to dance in the street, it always fun,” she said.
Gail Huggins, 50, a banking investor from Bergen County N.J., said she looks forward to the parade each year.
