Accordingly, a group of young people hiked to the southern hills of the Valley and camped there and celebrated Holi for the first time in the year 1998, naming it Moon Camp ‘98. Youth Initiative organizes Moon Camp every year on the day of Holi.[break]
“It’s an alternative way of celebrating Holi,” Anita Thapa, president of Youth Initiative, said. “We don’t celebrate it in a traditional way using colors and water. It started even before the establishment of Youth Initiative, and we’ve been organizing it on every Holi,” she added.
The participants of Moon Camp travel away from the hustle-bustle of the city to a peaceful location on the outskirts of Kathmandu Valley and celebrate Holi by spending a night there.
“We find out beforehand what community development activities we can do in one day in the communities we visit,” she said, adding, “On the day of Holi, we involve in different activities like painting schools, temples and building paths in that community.”
“The festival of Holi is often misinterpreted, and people have been celebrating it in a wrong way. So Moon Camp is a way of promoting culture as well as the sense of responsibility to the community among the youth.”
Hiking and games are other attractions of the program.
“These days, Holi has been misinterpreted as a festival of throwing ‘lola’ at people, especially women,” said Sashish Thapa, executive member of Youth Initiative.
“That’s why, he said, “Through Moon Camp, we celebrate Holi through a different perspective while involving in activities like painting walls of schools and temples.”
Those who are interested in participating in the program should register by March 16 paying a registration fee of Rs 500.
The participants will gather at the bus park at Lagankhel, Lalitpur, at seven in the morning on the day of Holi.
For more information and registration, call 4107856 or 9849227111 or mail at sashish@youth.org.np.
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