The annual Vaisakhi parade is nothing short of colour and festivities as the South Asian community celebrates one of the most important festivals in the Sikh calendar. Historically attended by 500,000 people, the annual Surrey Khalsa Day Vaisakhi Parade has planned for 700,000 attendees this year. It takes place on Saturday, April 22.

For thousands of years, Vaisakhi was celebrated as a harvest festival in India. But in the year 1699, it became much more significant for the Sikh Community as it was on this day that the order of the Khalsa was formed by the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh ji.

Sikhs celebrate Vaisakhi with a visit to the Gurdwara, attend parades, and celebrate with family and friends.

Attendees wear colourful, traditional clothes as they parade through the streets enjoying langar (free food) served by devotees doing volunteer service for thousands present at the parade.

“It’s always a colourful and vibrant celebration and I love the free food given in the spirit of seva, which is a key tenet of the faith that is put into practice on Vaisakhi,” says Pall Beesla, an instructor for operator training at Coast Mountain Bus Company.

Pall has been leading the planning and organization of the annual Vancouver Vaisakhi parade for 10 years.

Experience all of the festivities at the Surrey Vaisakhi Parade! The parade falls on Earth Day, so join us in taking Transit for the Planet. TransLink volunteers are handing out wildflower seed packets and joining the parade with our vibrant and floral Vaisakhi bus.

Snap your best shot of the bus, post it on Instagram, tag @TransLink and use the hashtag #MyTransLink for a chance to be featured!

Parade details

• ? Dasmesh Darbar Gurdwara Sahib Temple – 12885 85 Avenue, Surrey, BC
• ? Saturday, April 22. Parade begins at 9:30 a.m.
• ? 323 Surrey Ctrl / 323 Newton and 393 Surrey Ctrl / Newton

As the Vaisakhi parade organizers plan for 700,000 attendees, the streets of Newton will be filled with people, so we’ll be rerouting buses that normally run on the parade route.

Service reroutes

To accommodate the parade, the 323 Surrey Central Station / Newton Exchange, 324 Surrey Central Station / Newton Exchange, and 329 Surrey Central Station / Scottsdale are re-routed. Buses will serve all stops along the detour. Please visit translink.ca/alerts for full details.

What are you looking forward to the most at the Surrey Vaisakhi Parade? ?