Holi Festival
Hi , my name is Star and I have been lucky enough to call Gran Alacant my home for over 9 years now. My 7 year old daughter Ashlee and I are often “Out & About” enjoying the local attractions and culture in this part of Spain. Over the next few months I will be sharing some of our experiences with you to encourage you to go “Out & About” yourselves and maybe learn a little bit about this beautiful place we call home.
This month we want to encourage you to attend the amazing Holi Festival held at one of our favourite and most frequently visited places, as anyone who knows us can confirm.On Saturday 19th August Terra Natura in Benidorm will be holding this Festival of Colour, to celebrate the 45th Birthday of Petita one of their Indian Elephants. Ashlee and I, along with lots of friends and family, have attended this event over the past few years and have always had a fabulous time, so this year we wanted to tell you about it in advance to encourage you to go too. The best way to let you know what to expect is to write about our experiences in previous years …..
As we arrived our senses were teased by the sounds of Traditional Indian music and our level of excitement instantly began to rise. We were greeted by Traditional dancers and were all give a Bindi (spot on the forehead) which the kids thought was great.
As we had a bit of time before the Festival began, we headed off to see some of the animals, followed by a visit to the auditorium for the outstanding interactive bird show.
Time had ticked by, so off to the Elephants spacious enclosure we went to see the creatively painted Petita and her companion. The kids helped the keepers give them some fresh fruit and were amazed at how colourful and beautiful they looked, although the amount of food they ate left them all astounded.
Then it was on to Namastepur where the traditional Indian music and dancers were already creating an ambiance of happiness, peace and joy. The level of excitement in our group was almost at its peak as we covered our heads (and the kid’s eyes), grabbed bottles of coloured water and bags of coloured powder paint in anticipation of the big event. The music had us all moving and the announcer was building up the enthusiasm in the crowd then………. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 …
the whole sky was suddenly filled with magnificent clouds of colour, we and those around us were having a great time throwing handfuls of powder paint and squirting jets of colour everywhere, there was soon very little white clothing visable!!!!! Everyone was laughing and hugging and the dancers jumped back on stage and as we joined in the dancing, a massive feeling of celebratory joy was created by the crowd which enveloped us all The dancing went on for a while and we got a welcome dowsing from staff who were holding hose pipes on the rooftops, before going to eat.
After an energy restoring meal we crossed into AquaNatura for a shower and change of clothes. The many water slides and pools were a refreshing and fun way to cool off in the August heat. We also watched puppet and sea lion shows before dancing to the DJ’s tunes as he enticed us to the coloured foam party!!! This made for a brilliant end to one of our best days ever!!!
The Holi festival is truly an amazing experience and definitely not to be missed! So come and join us, fill up the car, or book a coach, check online for discounted tickets, (in previous years Terra/Aqua Natura have had an offer solely for this event, that gives you access to both parks at a much lower cost) and head on up the coast for a day guaranteed to leave you exhilarated and help you to sleep well! We give this a Family Fun Rating of 10/10 .
Our advice: wear white or light clothing to be able to fully immerse yourself in colour!!! Take hats or head scarfs and goggles for the kids to protect hair and eyes. Water shoes or something with a bit of grip are handy as the floor can get a bit slippery. Leave bags in your car or the lockers, to ensure your belongings don’t get wet and finally, be prepared for a fantastic day full of fun and laughter. Join us next month for some more fun “Out and About”.
Bye for now , Star and Ashlee x
