Manteca’s first ever Holi Festival promises to be a colorful event.

The ancient Hindu event — a festival of colors — is a cultural and religious celebration that includes throwing colored dye in the air.

 Organizers note “Holi, the festival of colors, marks the arrival of spring and celebrates the victory of good over evil. It is a time when people of all ages and communities come together to play with colors, enjoy music and dance, and savor delicious festive foods.”

“This year's celebration aims to highlight the importance of celebrating festivals together, fostering long-lasting bonds and promoting unity among our diverse communities.”

The inaugural Holi Festival in Manteca takes place at Woodward Community Park on Saturday, March 9, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

The  free entry event includes food, shopping, dance performers, kids games, music by DJ Preet, and of course “colors.”

The festival’s religious aspects celebrate the enteral and divine love of the Hindu deities Radha and Krishna.

While the Holi Festival is celebrated by Hindus,  one of the main themes of the festival is unity to bring those of other cultures and faiths together.

It is a celebration that happens all over the world. It brings people together and invites them to feel united in one big colorful group.

The Manteca Holi Festival is being staged by the Central Valley Punjabi Society.

The Manteca non-profit was established for the purpose of promoting Punjabi culture & traditions.

Punjab is a state in India.

There is not one religion in Punjab or India for that matter

The major religions of India include Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, and Buddhism.

Others include Baha’i Faith, Jainism, Judaism, and Zoroastrian to name a few.

The first immigrants from Punjab started arriving in the United States in the late 19th century. And most were Sikhs.

In the initial “wave”, some 3,000 people from India came into the United States via Angel Island, the West Coast’s answer in the Northern San Francisco Bay to New York’s Ellis Island.

Most initially ended up in the Central Valley, providing they manpower to build California’s fledging agricultural industry.

The 1917 Asiatic Barred Zone law slowed immigration down to a trickle.

A new quota system replaced that law in 1943.

But it wasn’t until 1965 immigration reform when significant growth in immigration occurred. By the end of 2021, those arriving from India were the second largest group of immigrants to the United States, behind Mexicans and ahead of Chinese and Filipinos.

Unlike late 19th century immigrants from India, most today arrive via employment of family-sponsored avenues under United States immigration laws.

Roughly four-fifths of adult Indian immigrants have a college education.

That has led to Indian migrant households to have median household incomes more than double of other immigrants and native born Americans.

As for Punjabi Americans, they now number almost 320,000 according to the Census Bureau. Many of them are Sikhs, who are descendants of those who first settled in California almost 130 years ago.

Roughly half of all Punjabi Americans (156,700) live in California and account for 0.42 percent of the state’s population. New York is a distant second with 30,341 Punjabi Americans.

Most Punjabis in California are in the Central Valley and Bay Area.

Numerically, Yuba City has the highest number of Indians at 11,000 with the vast majority being Punjabi Americans.

Punjabi Americans account for 12.9 percent of the population of Sutter County.

That makes it the most proportionately Punjabi American county in the United States.

Livingston, in Merced County, has 2,798  Indian Americans residing within its city limits or 19.9 percent. Again, most are Punjabi. As such, Livingston is proportionally the most Punjabi American municipality in the United States.

As for the March 9 Holi Festival in Manteca, organizers note those attending “will have the opportunity to capture the essence of Holi, showcasing the rich cultural heritage of the South East Asian community and the spirit of inclusivity that our festival represents. Your presence will help spotlight the joy and diversity that make our community unique.

 For more information on the March 9 festival or the Punjabi Society, email centralvalleypunjabisociety@gmail.com

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com