Surrey, B.C., gears up for biggest Vaisakhi parade in Canada

Surrey, B.C., is preparing for what is billed as the biggest Vaisakhi parade in Canada on Saturday, with over 500,000 people attending last year's event.

Vaisakhi is the annual Sikh festival that celebrates the new harvest. It usually includes colourful floats, music and food every spring.

For Sikhs, it also marks the creation of the order of the Khalsa in 1699 — a defining moment in Sikh history which gave the faith its final form.

The Surrey Vaisakhi parade will start at around 8:30 a.m. PT at the Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar on 85 Avenue, according to the city, and is set to last for most of the day. Organizers say everyone is welcome to attend the event.

It usually draws in Sikhs from all over the world, and organizers say their preparations for the parade — known as the Nagar Kirtan — started more than six months ago.

"This one event brings tens of millions of dollars into Surrey's economy over the course of just a month or two, which is absolutely essential for small businesses in the area," said Moninder Singh, the spokesperson for the B.C. Gurdwaras Council, in an interview with CBC News last week.

Singh said that the event is always a stage for the wider community to come together, mingle and discuss what's important to them.

He added that the issues of tariffs and affordability would come up, given politicians are expected to attend ahead of the April 28 federal election.

But he also said the Sikh community in the Lower Mainland was particularly concerned about the issue of foreign interference from India, especially after officials said there was credible information suggesting the Indian government was involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Surrey Sikh leader who advocated for a Sikh homeland known as Khalistan.

"We do have a backdrop for this election where there's very specific and key issues that the Sikh community is focused on, when political leaders approach our stages and approach us for time to speak," the spokesperson said.

Tradition of free food

Tony Singh, the owner of the Fruiticana grocery chain, said he served 100,000 people free food at the parade last year in a tent along with five other vendors.

He explained that Vaisakhi is the stage for the traditional act of langar, where Sikhs feed worshippers. Singh said it dates back to the days when devotees would travel on foot from far and wide for Vaisakhi, and they would be fed when they arrived to celebrate.

"Nagar Kirtan is bringing everybody together," he said. "We could care less who you are, what your background is.

"It is the day of the birth of Khalsa, bringing different people together and making them as one."