Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood Saturday for the annual Vaisakhi celebration and parade.
Vaisakhi is seen as a spring harvest celebration, primarily in Punjab and Northern India, but the tradition has travelled across the world.
In addition to being a traditional harvest festival, Vaisakhi is also a religious event, holding immense significance for the Sikh community.
Surrey’s annual Vaisakhi parade is considered the world’s largest outside of India.
Open Gallery 4 items
During Saturday’s parade, the streets were filled with colourful floats, the vibrant colors of traditional attire, and the aroma of traditional langar.
This year’s parade included a special dedication to Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a pro-separatist activist and president of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. Nijjar was gunned down last June in Surrey while exiting the parking area of the Gurdwara.
A Vaisakhi parade was also held in Vancouver a week ago, and more Vaisakhi parades are scheduled at various other locations in Canada after this.
The Surrey RCMP estimates that over half a million people attended this year’s Vaisakhi parade.