Hoover holds first Holi celebration at Veterans Park, organizers say community embraced event

Hoover hosted its first Holi celebration at Veterans Park this year, organizers said, bringing families, volunteers and community partners together for a spring event centered on colored powders, music and cultural exchange.

Organizers said the event was intended to fill a gap in the city’s cultural programming and to give children a chance to learn about Holi, the Hindu spring festival of colors. Astha Shastri, an event organizer described in city materials as a Hoover Ahead ambassador and a paraprofessional for Hoover City Schools, said she created the event after seeing similar multicultural activities at schools and wanting a shared community celebration.

City presenters and organizers described enthusiastic turnout and broad support. “Everyone was so excited, and they supported. They all came in. They all had so much fun,” an organizer said on the city’s recorded segment. Organizers said the event included color play and music and that volunteers and a planning committee worked to stage the celebration.

A city presenter summarized the event’s intent: “Like the colors of Holi, our community is brightest when we come together,” the presenter said in the video segment.

Organizers noted early interest in repeating the event. A planner recounted that at least one couple asked about next year’s date, which organizers described as a main highlight. City materials did not specify an exact date for a 2026 event.

The city promoted the Holi segment as part of its Community Collectors video series, which highlights local events and cultural stories. No city action items, funding amounts or formal approvals for the event were mentioned in the recorded segment.