Thousands attend Khalsa Day festivities showcasing Sikh culture in Regina

In celebration of the new year for the Sikh community, different practices and performances took place at this year’s Khalsa Day in Regina. (Sierra D'Souza Butts / CTV News)

Thousands of people across the province came out to celebrate the annual Khalsa Day festival at Regina’s Wascana Park on Saturday.

Starting off with a parade, the all-day event commemorates the history behind the Khalsa - meaning “pure” in Punjabi - through different cultural performances, practices, and activities celebrated by the Sikh community.

“The official word of the parade is Nagar Kirtan. Nagar means ‘city,’ and Kirtan means to ‘sing the hands of God,’” explained Manmeet Singh, general secretary and spokesperson for Sikh Society of Regina.

“What we are doing here is we are telling people that we are here. We are your neighbours, we belong here, and we all belong to the same human race.”

The order of Khalsa was created by Guru Gobind Singh on Vaisakhi Day back in 1699. Although the official day fell on April 14th this year, Singh said the event was held on May 31 due to better weather conditions.

With the event being open to the public and continuing to grow in size every year, Singh said educating others about Sikh traditions is a significant part of the festivities.

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“A lot of people don’t know about Sikhism. We are fairly new in terms of how old the religion is. Our religion is only 500 years old,” he explained.

“People [may] think we are from a religion or a place that [goes back a long time] which is not the case. We are actually the religion that prophecies the quality of both men and women and equality of all. Nagar Kirtan is saying no matter where you come from, who you are, we are all children of the God.”

Aside from small businesses and local vendors, officials from the Government of Saskatchewan, the Opposition NDP, the City of Regina, along with members of the Regina Police Service and Regina Fire and Protective Services were in attendance.

“We hope that people take this opportunity to learn more about the Sikh faith, and we are able to portray we are good neighbors and outstanding members of the community,” he said.

“We participate together and bring oneness.”

Organizers estimated over 15,000 people attended Saturday’s event.