Weekly five: Do’s and don’ts for attending the Festival of Colors

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The Festival of Colors is one of the most anticipated events of the spring and one of the most involved to attend. Several students share some do’s and don’ts from their past experiences to help prevent other students from making the same mistakes.

1. Do be careful about parking

Realize that hundreds of chalk-happy individuals pass by all the cars parked near the event. So, don’t expect the white car you left to be white when you return.

Also, as Julie McConnel learned, don’t leave your windows rolled down.

“We left our windows unrolled one year and got a huge handful of chalk inside our dark-interior car,” McConnel said. “It was awful.”

2. Do dress appropriately

The way you dress at the Festival of Colors is very important to comfort and survival. It’s best to wear a white shirt to color, sturdy shoes to keep toes from being squashed, handkerchiefs to help protect lungs from chalk dust and sunglasses to keep eyes from tearing all day.

Stephanie Hengen shared how her smart fashion choices kept her safe.

“People will just run up to you and throw chalk right in your face,” Hengen said. “If I hadn’t worn my sunglasses, I would’ve had colorful tear streaks running down my face the entire time. Just like my glassesless friends had.”

3. Do watch out for flying shoes and falling people

This tip is especially for those hanging out toward the front of the excitement.

Hengen shares some of her mosh pit experiences. Last year, her friend’s face had an unfortunate encounter with a shoe that was carelessly chucked through the crowd, resulting in a bloody wound.  Hengen also fears that body surfing, which is a popular activity in this sea of chaos, might also result in injuries.

“People were jumping up in the air all over the place to body surf, but they didn’t last long,” Hengen said. “As a short, weakling standing in the middle of the crowd, I was afraid of getting squashed by falling bodies.”

4. Do brush the color out of hair before showering

Brushed hair equals clean, natural-colored hair. Unbrushed hair equals a wet mess of colorful dye and cotton-candy-colored hair. Marley Barlow learned this lesson the hard way when her bleach blonde hair took on a nice pink hue after she attended the Festival of Colors.

“I thought the color would wash out, I was wrong,” Barlow said. “I had pink spots in my hair for two weeks after the color festival. It was ridiculous.”

While attending the Festival of Colors is an enjoyable experience, don’t let the colors haunt you through the next couple weeks. Brush the color out before showering. It may save test-taking eligibility in the future.

5. Don’t kiss

Attending the Festival of Colors is a great date idea, but hold off on the affection until chalk free.Although the material the color powder is made of is edible, eating it is not an enjoyable experience, as shared by Lauren Bretzing.

“I met a guy at the color festival and kissed him,” Bretzing said. “Big mistake. I got chalk in my mouth and wanted to die. Plus, I didn’t even remember his name and felt like a dirty pirate hooker.”

The Festival of Colors is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple, 311 West 8500 South, in Spanish Fork. Admission costs $3 and colored chalk will be sold for $2 a bag.

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