A culture of giving and a celebration of Canadian values will dominate this year’s mammoth Vaisakhi parade in Surrey, which is expected to draw around 200,000 people from the Pacific Northwest.

Held annually for the past 12 years to commemorate one of the most important religious events on the Sikh calendar, the Surrey celebration is the largest Vaisakhi or Khalsa Day parade in the world outside of India.

“Vaisakhi is a cultural celebration of the harvest and New Year, and is an important day marking the Anniversary of Khalsa, dating back to 1699,” says Moninder Bual, spokesperson for the Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar Temple, organizers of the celebratory event, where free food flows amidst traditional performances.

“This is the largest Vaisakhi Parade outside of India and we are proud of the tradition of great family entertainment and community engagement it represents,” he said, adding everyone is welcome to enjoy the festivities.

For Surrey, where one-third of its residents are of South Asian descent and where the immigrant population is increasing by 1,000 people each month, the Vaisakhi celebration is an opportunity to showcase the city’s diversity.

“I have lived in Surrey since 1990 and every year the Khalsa Day celebrations grows bigger and bigger…it is wonderful to see people of all faiths and backgrounds come to the parade…this is multiculturalism and this is what our Gurus taught us,” said Babar Singh Tumber, a contractor, who helps organize the parade.

“Vaisaski is a time of joy and service,” said Tumber, who with his family will be doling out jelebis, an Indian sweet, along with many other Indian dishes at the parade this Saturday.

For the last few weeks Tumber and fellow Sikhs have been busily preparing for the Nagar Kirtan as the annual Vaisakhi parade is known, building floats and organizing details for an event that is expected to attract visitors from Alberta, Washington State and across British Columbia.

“We are supposed to serve God by serving other people every day,” explained Tumber, a father of three, who after work spends an average of about four hours a day at Dasmesh Darbar Sikh temple cooking in the community kitchen to cleaning the floors.

Like him, B.C. Sikh’s community is front and centre when it comes to community service, supporting charitable causes and providing relief aid.

Some of the service initiatives which have already begun include taking the concept of langar, or the free community kitchens, into Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside to feed the homeless on a regular basis; The World Sikh Organisation in Canada (WSO) is asking Sikhs to help support newborn babies with proper care and nutrition by doing a drive for local food banks, while the group EcoSikh ramps up its Green Gurdwaras program - a large-scale effort to transform places of worship into centers of sustainability.

“April is also a time of renewal, transformation and new beginnings for many Canadians. In this spirit, WSO Canada is also asking our community partners across Canada to help ensure our most youngest and vulnerable experience a thriving beginning,” said Sukhvinder Kaur Vinning, Executive Director of the group.

At this year’s parade, organisers expect over 2500 participants representing 20 community organizations to participate in the events with thousands more celebrating the spirit of Vaisakhi 

The Surrey parade, which will begin and end at the Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar on 85th Ave., flows with the float carrying the Guru Granth Sahib, the religious text of Sikhism. 

In front it will be the Canadian Armed Forces, TransLink buses, and many community organisations  such as the Sikh Motorcycle Club.

Along the route there will also be live music and dancers,

Taking the place of community pride will be the army cadets from the newly formed RCACC 3300, the first ever cadet group sponsored by the Sikh community.

If Surrey boasts one of the biggest Vaisakhi parades outside of India, Vancouver has the disctinction of being the oldest such event in B.C.

Since 1979, the annual Vaisakhi parade in Vancouver has grown to draw tens of thousands of people from all walks of life, who come to enjoy the free food and festivities. Organised by the Khalsa Diwan Society, this year’s parade held last Saturday attracted about 80,000 people, including BC premier Christy Clark and her NDP rival Adrian Dix.

Clark told the crowd she believes it’s time to mark the area around 49th and Main streets with an “India Gate.”

Dix took the opportunity to take a stab at the Liberals saying the party is confused over its roles as government.

But no one was interested in politics.

Mandy Kaur Sekhon who came to the parade with a group of friends said the Vaisakhi celebrations gives her a chance to “see, smell and hear my religion.”

“I can’t wait for the big parade in Surrey,” she added.

 

 

Vaisakhi Q&A

 

Q: What are the origins of Vaisakhi?

A: Although Vaisakhi has traditionally been a harvest festival in Punjab and across South Asia for centuries, the day has a very special significance for Sikhs. On Vaisakhi Day in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh created the Order of the Khalsa. The Khalsa are those Sikhs who have accepted the Sikh initiation or “khande kee paahul” and commit to live their lives in the service of humanity and the spirit of equality and compassion. The founding of the Khalsa was a seminal event in Sikh history which gave the Sikh faith its final form.

 

Q: What is a Nagar Kirtan?

A: The word nagar means town and kirtan is singing of hymns. A nagar kirtan refers to a Sikh parade that is led by the Punj Pyare (the five beloved ones, who represent the first five Sikh to have been initiated) and the Sri Guru Granth Sahib or the Sikh scripture, which is placed in a decorated float. The congregation follows the parade while singing hymns and verses from the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, along with displays of the Sikh martial art gatka and distributing free food (langar). The nagar kirtan begins and concludes with a religious service and the serving of langar.

 

Q: What is the significance of the orange and yellow colours? 

A: Yellow and orange are the traditional colours of Vaisakhi. They represent the spirit of rebirth and sacrifice of the Punj Pyare but are also a colour of joy and celebration. When Vaisakhi is celebrated in Punjab, the golden yellow wheat fields are ready to be harvested.

 

Q: Who can participate in Vaisakhi celebrations? 

A: Everyone. The Sikh faith considers all persons to be equal, regardless of gender, race, nationality or class. Sikh gurdwaras are open to all people. The langar or community meal is also offered to both Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike. 

 

Q: Is there any special dress I should wear?

A: The only requirements to visit a Sikh gurdwara are that visitors take off their shoes and cover their heads. Any intoxicants such as tobacco products or liquor are also not permitted on the premises. – World Sikh Organisation of Canada