Editor’s Note: This article was photographed for Mosaic, an independent journalism training program for high school students who report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.
Festival participants celebrated the arrival of spring by wearing vibrant colors, enjoying a wide array of live music, dance performances and traditional Indian food. Holi is the Hindu festival of colors, where people smearing each other with brightly colored powder and dance together.
Mosaic photographers Nischal Jasti and Maxwell Alexander attended the Holi Festival in Milpitas and downtown San Jose where hundreds of revelers celebrated the colorful holiday.
At the Holi Festival in Cardoza Park in Milpitas, Calif., on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Nischal Jasti/Mosaic)
An attendee of the Holi Fest 2025, at the Children’s Discovery Museum, laughs with friends after being doused with water in downtown San Jose on Saturday, March 15, 2025. (Maxwell Alexander/Mosaic)
Gurudev Hira, of San Leandro, plays a mridangam at the Holi Festival in Cardoza Park in Milpitas, Calif., on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Nischal Jasti/Mosaic)
An attendee of the Holi Fest 2025, at the Children’s Discovery Museum, stares into the distance covered in Holi chalk in downtown San Jose on Saturday, March 15, 2025. (Maxwell Alexander/Mosaic)
At the Holi Festival in Cardoza Park in Milpitas, Calif., on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Nischal Jasti/Mosaic)
Abhirup and Shelley C. pose for a portrait during Holi Fest 2025, which took place at the Children’s Discovery Museum “Discovery Meadow” in downtown San Jose on Saturday, March 15, 2025. (Maxwell Alexander/Mosaic)
People dance the Holi Festival in Cardoza Park in Milpitas, Calif., on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Nischal Jasti/Mosaic)
Participants in Holi Fest 2025 which took place at the Children’s Discovery Museum “Discovery Meadow” dance to traditional Indian music in downtown San Jose on Saturday, March 15, 2025. (Maxwell Alexander/Mosaic)
Apna Sinha and Vishwas balakrishnan give out holi colors at the Holi Festival in Cardoza Park in Milpitas, Calif., on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Nischal Jasti/Mosaic)
A child sleeps on the grass of the Children’s Discovery Museum “Discovery Meadow” during Holi Fest 2025 in downtown San Jose on Saturday, March 15, 2025. (Maxwell Alexander/Mosaic)
At the Holi Festival in Cardoza Park in Milpitas, Calif., on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Nischal Jasti/Mosaic)
Arjun Pillai chats with friends at Holi Fest 2025, which took place at the Children’s Discovery Museum “Discovery Meadow” in downtown San Jose on Saturday, March 15, 2025. (Maxwell Alexander/Mosaic)
