Calgary Sikhs join in worldwide celebrations to honour the history of Sikhism
This weekend Sikhs around the world are celebrating Vaisakhi.
It’s a time to celebrate and reflect on the day their religion was formed.
In Calgary, celebrations took place Saturday at the Dashmesh Culture Centre in northeast Calgary.
“Vaisakhi is the birth of Khalsa for Sikhs, and all around the world,” says Raj Sidhu, Director of Operations at the Dashmesh Culture Centre.
“The community comes together today to celebrate, and understand where we come from, and be proud of who we are.”
As many as 70,000 people were expected to visit the centre and that included Premier Danielle Smith.
“It means a lot is when you know when especially the premiere, we had the mayor here earlier," Sidhu says.
“It means a lot as it shows our community that people are interested and it makes our community feel like they're part of the fabric of Calgary.”
The community is also preparing for the annual Nagar Kirton parade on May11.
It will start at the Dashmesh Culture Centre and make its way through the northeast communities before ending at Prairie Winds Park.
This is the second largest parade behind the Calgary Stampede Parade.
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