The annual Vaisakhi festival in Vancouver brings vibrant colours and joyous celebrations, marking one of the most significant festivals in the Sikh calendar for the South Asian community.

What is it?: Vaisakhi is celebrated by people of Indian descent as a festival of harvest and renewal, as well as a time to meet friends and family.

• It is also one of the holiest days in the Sikh calendar. It marks the formation of the Order of the Khalsa more than 300 years ago.
• Metro Vancouver’s Vaisakhi celebrations are among the largest outside of India.

When and Where: The Vancouver Vaisakhi Festival takes place on Saturday, April 12, 10:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. beginning at 8000 Ross Street, Vancouver and finishes in the same place.

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 event.

TransLink has a special Vaisakhi bus that will be making an appearance as well!

Getting there: Take transit, walk or roll as there’s limited parking.

Plan your transit trip using our Trip Planner at translink.ca/tripplanner.

• Don’t have a Compass Card? Simply tap your contactless Interac Debit card or credit card (Visa, Mastercard or American Express) on our Compass Card readers to pay your transit fare. This includes Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
• There are road closures along Main Street, Fraser Street, westbound SE Marine Drive, and 57th Avenue to accommodate the parade.
• 🚌 The 3 Main / Downtown, 8 Fraser / Downtown, 49 Metrotown Stn / Dunbar Loop / UBC, and 100 Marpole Loop routes are re-routed. Visit translink.ca/alerts for details.