I love how multicultural our city can be. People come from all corners of the globe, bringing with them all sorts of wonderful traditions and delicious foods. And I got to partake in some of those celebrations over the weekend with the Vaisakhi parade and other festivities along the South Slope in Vancouver.
Just as we get to indulge in other cultural events like Latincouver and Greek Day, the Vaisakhi celebrations in Vancouver are a lot of fun. Vaisakhi holds a great deal of importance within the Sikh community for a number of reasons. First, it is the new year. Second, it celebrates the establishment of the Khalsa and, thus, the birth of Sikhism. And third, it celebrates the start of winter harvest back in India.
The festival is marked with a great deal of generosity among local business owners and regular residents alike, as they hand out free food and drink to anyone who’d like to indulge in some homemade samosas, pakora, paneer, chai, and all sorts of other goodies. That’s one of the key differences with Vaisakhi compared to other cultural events in Vancouver; it’s all free. You can even find some free pizza and pop, if you’d like. I only meandered my way down Fraser Street, but the Vancouver Vaisakhi celebration spanned all the way across to Main Street and down to Marine Drive, drawing some tens of thousands of people.
Embedded below are a video and several photos that I took at Vaisakhi. If you’re prepared to brave a crowd that’s multitudes bigger, Surrey will host their Vaisakhi celebrations this Saturday.
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