Approximately 40,000 Calgarians took to the streets of Martindale on Saturday for the 25th annual running of a celebration of the Sikh faith.
The event celebrated the birth of the Sikh faith and included Nagar Kirtan, the singing of sacred hymns throughout the neighbourhood.
“We’re here for the Vaisakhi parade,” explained Gaganpret Bains. ‘Vaisakhi is the harvest season in Punjab, India where we’re all pretty much from and this parade is celebrating the birth of the Khalsa, the birth of our religion.”
Calgary-Greenway MLA Prab Gill says cultural events like Saturday’s parade make Calgary, Alberta, and Canada great places to live and the event provides an important platform.
“To showcase our culture, who we are, what the Sikh religion is and how it started,” said Gill.
Gurinder Singh Sidhu, chairman of the Dashmesh Culture Centre, says while the local Vaisakhi parade may not attract the same number of participants as cities with larger Sikh populations, Calgary’s event has grown exponentially over the decades.
Saturday’s event also included the collection of donations for the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank.
