Thousands congregate in northeast Calgary for colourful Nagar Kirtan parade - Action News
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Calgary

Thousands congregate in northeast Calgary for colourful Nagar Kirtan parade

The annual Nagar Kirtan parade took place Saturday morning, bringing thousands of people to northeast Calgary for a colourful gathering of community.

Parade is part of the holiday Vaisakhi, which marks the anniversary of the creation of Sikhism

A group of people wearing orange turbans are pictured on motorbikes.
A procession of motorbikes was part of the celebrations on Saturday. (Helen Pike/CBC)

The annual Nagar Kirtan parade took place Saturday morning, bringing thousands of people to northeast Calgary.

The parade is part of the festival of Vaisakhi, and sees devotees sing prayers, play music and chant hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib the Sikh holy book as the procession passes down the street. Calgary's event is part of similar celebrations taking place across the world.

Vaisakhi marks the anniversary of the creation ofthe collective faith of Sikhism in 1699 and the beginning of the harvest season.

A temple is pictured in the background with several people in colourful attire standing in front.
Calgary's Sikh community gathered Saturday morning to celebrate Vaisakhi, which is seen as a celebration of spring harvest primarily in North India. (Helen Pike/CBC)

The parade started at Dashmesh Culture Centre in Martindale and ended at Prairie Winds Park.

Raj Sidhu, director of operations with the Dashmesh Culture Centre the main Sikh temple in northeast Calgary says Nagar Kirtan is the second largest event in the city, after the Calgary Stampede.

"The purpose of this is to bring the community together," he said.

Harkirit Singh, who was volunteering at the event, says its all about celebration.

A man wearing a turban is pictured.
Event volunteer Harkirit Singh said the parade is all about celebration. (Helen Pike/CBC)

"All doors are open to everybody. Anybody wants a free meal, wants to get to learn more about the Sikh faith, come on through."

Avleen Dullat is excited to celebrate with food particularly the sweet treat Kulfi.

"They're basically ice cream. But they have different flavours of almonds and stuff like that. That's what I've been looking for. I've been craving those for a while now."

Clarifications

  • An earlier version of this article included a quote that misstated when Sikhism became a collective faith.
    May 19, 2023 12:33 PM MT