Spectacular Vibha Holi 2018 Brings Color and Cause Together
HOUSTON: Holi signifies the victory of good over evil. It also signifies the advent of spring, the joy of friendship, and equality for all. On Sunday, March 4, on the grounds of India House, we saw a perfect blend of it all at Vibha Holi 2018. The grounds were awash with color as a crowd of almost 4000 people from all different ages, nationalities and ethnicities lost their inhibitions to come together and celebrate friendship while merrily throwing colors and water at their friends and strangers. In this way, Vibha Holi 2018 also represented the celebration of oneness across communities.
Organized by Vibha, in association with Tara Energy, Namaskaar Entertainment and GlobalDesis and hosted by Houston’s best – DJ AJ (Ajay Kumar), this five-hour long event included live performances by an enthralling group of musicians – The GlobalDesis, the young and peppy Serene Kaggal, and rapper Somantic Nabil; Bollywood style dance performances by local dance groups in Houston; dholi Puneet Dave who made everyone groove to his beats; food booths by Bhojan, Chennai Express, Gayatri Bhavan, and Mirch Masala; and lots of prizes and giveaways including a 55” TV & $500 gift vouchers by Sterling McCall Toyota, Ipad by Ameriprise, Cricket bats by New York Life Insurance, food vouchers and more. Besides color play and entertainment, Vibha Holi 2018 also included the Holika Dahan (lighting of the bonfire during which all evils are symbolically burnt), which was conducted by Shashtri Hardikbhai Raval of Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir.
Another highlight of the event was the presentation of ceremonial checks for Hurricane Harvey relief. Thanks to the generous donations of Vibha patrons and fundraising by volunteer’s post-Harvey, Vibha raised $60,000 to support Hurricane Harvey relief. These funds were equally disbursed among two organizations: 1) Today’s Harbor for Children that provides healthy, comprehensive residential care to abused and neglected children, took a direct hit from Hurricane Harvey. The disbursed funds will enable them to recover from the damage; and 2) Houston Public Library Foundation will deploy the funds in a Mobile Express (library on wheels) project that will serve communities which do not have a functioning library after Harvey. Once the damaged libraries are open, the new Mobile Express will continue to serve the Houston community for the duration of its expected lifespan of ten years.
Vibha Holi 2018 was organized by the dedicated efforts of Vibha Houston volunteers. Numerous volunteers jumped into the event head on– eager to involve themselves with the event and action center. Vibha is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political, and a volunteer-driven organization with the mission to educate, empower and enable every individual who wishes to make a positive difference in the life of the underprivileged children.
All proceeds from Vibha Holi 2018 will go directly towards funding projects supported by Vibha in India and US that align with Vibha’s vision of helping every underprivileged child attain his/her right to education, health and opportunity for a brighter future.
This amazingly executed event was greatly supported by Rajesh Desai of Namaskaar Entertainment, GlobalDesis artists, Darshak Thacker of Krishna Sound, and Col. Vipin Kumar of India House; and sponsored by Tara Energy (Title sponsors), Sterling McCall Toyota (Diamond sponsors), New York Life Insurance, Ameriprise (Jessica Paulin), Homeowner Mortgage, Prompt Realty, Deep Foods, Quik Tea, Britannia, Rameshbhai (Sari Sapne), Rajender Singh (Star Promotion), Radio Dabang (Official media partner), Meena Datt Radio, Indo-American News and Radio Hungama.
Vibha Houston thanks their patrons for their support and look forward to seeing them at their future fundraising events.
For more information about Vibha and for volunteering opportunities, visit www.vibha.org or https://www.facebook.com/vibhahou/