Are you looking for fun that will bring you joyous feelings during summertime in Armenia? The color festival in Yerevan is the perfect fest for you if you want to make your summer literally colorful. This event basically replaces the Indian Holi tradition for Armenians and is a great way to meet new people and enjoy the diverse colors of the festival together. Surely, if you have the chance, don’t miss out on this one! 😉
Yerevan Color Festival is celebrated in June where people splash colorful powder paint on each other. It has a lot in common with India’s Holi holiday and signifies the arrival of the joyous summer season. During the fest, people enjoy the special performances organized for the day by dancing and singing.
After reading the post, you will have a better idea about how and why we celebrate the color festival every year. Also, I have prepared a list of useful tips for you in case you decide to become a part of this colorful experience. So enjoy, check out the fest and let me know what your thoughts are! I will look forward to reading your thoughts after you share them with me on Instagram or Twitter with #ArmeniaTravelTips.
How do we celebrate the Yerevan Color Festival?
If you happen to be in Yerevan during June, then a cool fest that I will definitely recommend is the Yerevan Color Festival. This is one of those events that does not have any age restrictions and to make it more fun, it’s nicer when everybody participates. The fun is guaranteed as there are lots of colors, food, and live concerts where popular Armenian bands and DJs perform.
The festival usually takes place in June, in some easily accessible open air space, e.g. Megamall Armenia parking lot. To participate in the festival you will need to buy a ticket which will cost you 3000 AMD ($7) on the day of the fest and 2000 AMD ($5) if you buy beforehand. You can find the tickets online at the link. Also, don’t worry about bringing color powder with you, you’ll get it at the fest.
Music is a huge part of the Yerevan Color Festival. For example in 2022, the Nemra band and three other local DJs performed non-stop live music for the guests during the whole event. It’s one of the well-known and beloved music bands in Armenia and I really like their performances. And bands of this caliber are typically invited to perform at the festival every year.
You can watch the video below from one of the festivals in previous years to get an idea. In case you like the Yerevan Color Festival (which I’m sure you’ll do) you’ll most likely like our water festival as well. It takes place in July and instead of splashing powder paint we drench each other with water. Check out my separate post dedicated to our water fest called Vardavar and its meaning for us. I promise it’s something you haven’t seen anywhere else 😉
Why do we even have a color festival?
The main purpose behind the color festival is to bring people together and celebrate the start of the summer season full of joyous fests. Yerevan Color Festival is the perfect way to set a festive mood for upcoming events and holidays. In 2016, Armenia organized its first color festival which was inspired by the popular Indian festival, Holi. This is the case when Armenians can’t brag about initiating the idea of the fest as the answer is pretty obvious 🙂 Anyways, since then, the event has been great and people seem to really love it and wait for the next year’s fest with great excitement.
Yerevan Color Festival will surely make your trip a memorable one and add joy to your trip. You ask me how? Well, it is one of the brightest events and is especially a great place for foreigners to meet the locals and make friends in Armenia. You will have a really vibrant day and always remember your experience in Armenia. It is also one of those fests that encourage multiculturalism by welcoming everyone to sing, dance, have fun with the colorful power paints and distract from their daily problems.
Useful tips for taking part in the color festival
To make sure that you get the most out of the Yerevan Color Festival, I prepared a short list of tips that I find useful. Enjoy reading them!
- Make sunglasses your ally – The accessory will probably be the most useful item for you during the fest. You will be able to see through the sunglasses and no powder will hinder your visibility.
- Apply moisturizer to your skin – You can thank me later for this one. This will ease the process of getting the powder off your skin. So, you’ll only see the benefits afterward!
- Wear a hat – It will protect your hair from the color and when showering you will not have to struggle much if you have long hair 🙂
- Don’t worry about the dust caused by the event – The color powders are eco-friendly, safe, and easy to clean from your clothes. So, it won’t damage your skin or clothes.
- Have fun! – Like honestly, just enjoy! 😇
Final thoughts on the Yerevan color festival
I am hopeful that you found this post useful in terms of what to expect from the festival. It is really one of the youth’s favorite fests. But, this is not all that Armenia offers. We really like the fun that festivals bring to our lives. That’s the reason why we have so many of them. You definitely should not miss the biggest ones at least like the Yerevan Wine Days fest and Yerevan Beer Fest.
These posts can especially interest you if you like getting to know the culture by the taste of their local drinks. At least that’s one of my favorite ways of finding new things about the countries I visit. But Armenian has other weird and amazing traditions. Check this post on weird Armenian traditions!
And, of course, do not forget to share some of the pictures you take at the Yerevan Color Festival and other fests you manage to attend. I like seeing your smiley faces so don’t hesitate to send them to me on Instagram or Twitter with #ArmeniaTravelTips. Looking forward to it!
Featured image credit: John Thomas on Unsplash
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