Article content

A sea of orange turbans, headscarfs and a stunning array of colourful traditional Indian garb flooded the Sikh Society of Regina’s parking lot on Saturday morning as hundreds gathered for the annual Sikh Day Parade.

Also known as Nagar Kirtan, the parade is part of the religious festival Vaisakhi. After an opening prayer, the crowd began to move toward their destination, the Saskatchewan Legislative Building, where several hundred more joined in the celebration.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Annual Sikh Day Parade promotes diversity, inclusion and love Back to video

“The main reason we do this is to bring awareness to the people (about) who Sikhs are and that we are just like any other citizen,” said Surender (Gary) Grewal, general secretary of the Sikh Society and chairperson for the event.

“We want to show our culture to the rest of the Canadians in the neighbourhood.”

The phrase “Sikh Values are Canadian Values” could be seen on billboards around the city in the days leading up to the event. Equality, respect for all, community service, freedom and liberty for everyone, social justice and the protection of human rights were among the values listed below the phrase and it was exactly what volunteers, participants and organizers expressed when asked what the parade was all about.