Holi, Songkran celebrated at AAPI Montclair’s color run (PHOTOS)

AAPI Montclair — the organization advocating for and celebrating the culture of Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities in Montclair — celebrated the Hindu spring festival of Holi and the Thai spring festival of Songkran on April 3 with a color run.

“On Holi, revelers throw colored powder into the air and splash each other with water,” the group wrote in its announcement of the event. “Songkran in Thai means ‘to move.’ The Thai people believe that water is purifying and cleanses you of any bad luck from the past year. People celebrate Songkran by engaging in water fights."

Racers completed in a closed course at Brookdale Park, and were splashed with color and water at the finish line.

Organizers said 10% of race fees were donated to runners’ PTAs of choice.

“AAPI Montclair is proud to give back to our local public school PTAs, whose support of our programming and events has been instrumental in building our community, and who have faced such challenging headwinds over the past two years,” they said in their event announcement.

Other fees raised funds for AAPI Montclair’s mission to create a more inclusive community, organizers said.

Songkran is April 13, but festivals continue in Thailand through April 15. This year, Holi took place March 17 and 18.