Once again Vancouver will be host to the Vaisakhi Parade. The annual Vaisakhi Parade, takes place on April 13, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
It takes place from about 10 am to 4 pm or so, starting at the Ross Street Temple at 8000 Ross Street just off Marine Drive in South Vancouver.
The event will once again host a lively and celebratory event to mark the most important time in the Sikh calendar, the celebration of the harvest and the birth of the Khalsa. The Vancouver Vaisakhi Parade is one of the largest Sikh parades in the world.
Attendees of all races and cultures are welcome at this celebratory and rich cultural event, which features a large number of floats, community performers and live music.
A Day of Thanksgiving & Culture
Vaisakhi, foundation day of the Khalsa Panth, harvesting of crops, and new hopes with the beginning of a new year, is a day of celebrating the colour saffron.
As the entire Punjabi community believes in celebrating this auspicious day with colours, bhangra, and makke di roti te sarso da saag, it is popularly seen as a celebration of culture. Vaisakhi being one of the important festivals of Punjabi culture, it would not be wrong to call it as the ‘Thanksgiving of Punjabis.’
The colourful festival is the day of reaping crops and binding huge hopes with it. It is the day when farmers, after months of diligence, are ready to reap their hard-earned money. It is the day when they celebrate and give thanks for what they have earned.
In the history of Sikhism, Vaisakhi has a prominent value as being the day of Khalsa Foundation by the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, when he baptised his first Five Beloved (Panj Pyare) and later got baptised from them. This laid the foundation of Khalsa Panth – the main two places of celebration being Sri Anandpur Sahib and Talwandi Sabo.
Vancouver Vaisakhi Parade 2019
When: Saturday, April 13, 2019
Time: 11 am to 5 pm
Where: Starts at Ross Street Sikh Temple – 8000 Ross Street, Vancouver