Bright white smiles shone out of multi-coloured faces at The Colour Splash on Saturday.
Dust of all colours covered the park and the people dancing in it from midday until 5pm.
Keri Courtney and her daughter Lyla, 4, enjoyed getting messy with Lyla's favourite colours; pink, purple and orange.
"It was a hot day and we felt like having a run around and she's just loved it," Mrs Courtney said.
"We got her favourite colours."
It was their first colour dust event and Mrs Courtney said it was great to see the community out having fun together.
Bhadra Reid helped her son Druva organise the event and said it was inspired by an age-old tradition from India called 'Holi'.
"At the start of spring it celebrates the new colour and new bounty of spring."
They decided instead to host it early in the new year to incorporate the "new beginnings" theme and make the most of the summer weather and crowds.
Traditionally colourful ashes, clays, and spices were used but in modern times a harmless dye had replaced them, she said.
She said the Holi festivals in India were a "wonderful" experience, where every street was full of colour and there were no limitations.
"It's about new beginnings and throwing away old fears and making friends with people you've had a disagreement with."
She had spent one Indian Holi festival in a traditional temple dancing to music with hundreds of others.
"It was an absolutely wonderful experience."
She believed Tauranga peoples' openness to other cultures and celebrations was growing and hoped Saturday's event would be the start of an annual event in the city.