ONE of Vancouver’s oldest running parades is returning to South Vancouver on Saturday, April 13. The Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan is an annual parade that has been celebrated in Vancouver since 1979. This year’s festivities are the second since a brief pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the organizers are placing an emphasis on ensuring the parade is more exciting and as welcoming as ever.

Primarily celebrated in Northern India, the parade is held to celebrate the beginning of the spring harvest. For Canadian Sikhs, the parade observes a major event in the history of Sikhism.

On April 13, 1699, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Guru of Sikhism, baptized the Panj Pyare (the five beloved ones), and gave birth to the Khalsa Panth (The Khalsa Order). The Khalsa was created to provide a new vision of what the religion could aspire to be, and many Canadian Sikhs follow its tenets to this day.

The parade begins at Khalsa Diwan Society’s Ross Street Gurdwara, and travels throughout South Vancouver making stops at the Punjabi Market, and Sunset on Fraser, before returning to the Gurdwara. There are many sewadars (volunteers), who offer langar (a communal meal) to the masses along the parade route. For the community, the parade is recognized as an opportunity to cross cultural barriers by breaking bread together.

This year, the Khalsa Diwan Society is partnering with Langara College to provide free parking for those visiting the parade. “We are thrilled to support the community at Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan by welcoming travellers attending from across the Lower Mainland,” said Yusuf Varachia, Langara’s VP of External Relations and Community Engagement. “Langara is a home to students from 100 countries, and we are proud to celebrate our Sikh community this month.”

TransLink staff and volunteers will also be participating in this year’s parade with a new Vaisakhi-themed bus. “Our warmest wishes go out to all the communities taking part in joyous Vaisakhi celebrations around the region,” says TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn. “We’re so excited to participate in this year’s South Vancouver parade with a very special bus, featuring impressive new artwork to honour this festive occasion.”

Community partnerships are central to ensuring that the parade is successful. “Planning the Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan is a momentous task,” says Khalsa Diwan Society President Kuldip Singh Thandi. “Even 325 years after the Khalsa’s founding, Sikhism’s tenets are a divine force which bring people together to practice selfless giving.”

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