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South Okanagan Sikh temple invites the public to celebrate Vaisakhi

The Penticton Sikh Temple is inviting the public to join them in celebrating Vaisakhi this Sunday.
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The Penticton Sikh Temple celebrated Vaisakhi with their first ever Nagar Kirtan in Penticton in 2017. (Kristi Patton/Penticton Western News)

The Penticton Sikh Temple is inviting the public to join them in celebrating Vaisakhi this Sunday.

“We want everyone to join us this weekend and be a part of the positive atmosphere. It doesn’t matter what class or religion you are, everyone is welcome to join the parade and events at the temple and the high school,” said Baljit Bhuhi. “We encourage people to wear yellow or blue, but it is definitely not mandatory.”

READ MORE: South Okanagan celebrates Vaisakhi

Vaisakhi is a religious festival that is celebrated by Sikhs all over the world and is known as one of the most important events in the Sikh Calendar. It signals the start of the harvest season and the creation of the Khalsa, the Sikh brotherhood.

The procession includes the Guru Garanth Sahib (the holy Sikh book) which is placed on a float.

READ MORE: Sikh festival parades through Penticton

The parade will leave the temple (located at 3290 South Main St.) at noon then turn onto Yorkton Avenue, Wilson Avenue and Green Avenue to Princess Margaret Secondary School where they will stop for a short period.

“We will have brightly decorated floats in the parade, martial arts performers, a motorcycle club and the holy book which leads the parade. We will stop at Princess Margaret where everyone is also welcome to join us where we will have a few speakers, sing cultural songs that are part of our history and we will have lots of traditional Indian vegetarian food available. We will leave the school just after 1:40 p.m. to head back to the temple, which will be open until 4 p.m.,” said Bhuhi, who added those who want to go inside the temple must have their heads covered.

Bhuhi said this is the third year they have held a parade at the Penticton temple and moved the date up as other temples in Kelowna and Oliver were holding their events during their traditional time to celebrate.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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