On Saturday, thousands gathered at South Street Seaport Museum at Pier 16 to celebrate Holi, the Hindu festival of colors. Clouds of purple, red and orange filled the air and settled on the streets as festival-goers threw colored powder and water at each other.

Holi is a time for families and friends to gather as a community, for children to express themselves through a riot of color and for joy to fill the streets.

At Seaport, the celebrations were intense: Dancers, DJs and speakers fed into the chaos and excitement as the crowd got increasingly caked in colorful paint and powder.

Holi is often associated with the Hindu deity Krishna, who was in love with a milkmaid but embarrassed by his blue skin. When playing a game one day, he playfully colored her face. Following his example, Holi is a festival where differences are set aside in favor of collective fun and color.

It is a relatively rare occurrence that children are left, unbound, to run around in New York City. Playgrounds and schools have tall gates behind which children are barricaded — but on the pier, the crowd’s infectious energy created a new social space where children were safely able to run freely.

Contact Anna Prenowitz at [email protected].