BATON ROUGE - The Festival of Colors, Love, and Spring—also known as Holi Festival—welcomed springtime to downtown Baton Rouge Saturday afternoon.

The Hindu tradition is known for its bright colors, dancing and colored-powder throws. All ages and ethnicities were invited to partake in the fun, making it possible for families to celebrate their culture in the capital region.

"That's the beauty of it. Mixing the generations and the culture. Just passing on the traditions that we've held dear to us to the next generations," members of Aaja Nachale, an Indi-American dance group, said.

In attendance was Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, who says this festival is beneficial for the community.

"It actually goes beyond the Indian culture because it unites us as a community around the theme of love and joy," Broome said.

One participant, Ramesh Bettagre, says he's originally from India and the Baton Rouge fest is quite similar to theirs. The only thing missing, he says, is incorporating colored water into the festivities. He hopes to see this in future Baton Rouge celebrations.

"In India, you also play with water. Colored water. They can dip you in drums of colored water," Bettagre said. 

Many dancing groups took the stage showing off their moves, which is rich in Hindu culture.

"This Holi fest just helps everyone to understand our culture and how it's formed. It shows how we like to dance as well," a member of Aaja Nachale, said.

A portion of the proceeds from Saturday's event will go towards local non-profit organizations in the community and will be announced at a later date.