Sikh Festival and Parade

The first float in the 2009 Sikh Parade. Photo by queerbychoice.The Sikh Festival and Parade is held annually in Sutter County to commemorate the Sikhs' receipt of their holy text, the Guru Granth Sahib, in 1708. The parade takes place on the first Sunday of November. It begins and ends at the Sikh Temple in Tierra Buena and is 4.5 miles long, making it the longest parade in the Yuba-Sutter area. As many as 85,000 people attend each year. People of all faiths are welcome.

The festival lasts three days, of which the first 48 hours are spent in nonstop prayer. The prayer begins at 9:00 a.m. on the Friday that precedes the parade. There is a fireworks display Friday evening. On Saturday morning, the flag is raised, and at noon, a public lunch is held, followed by an Open House. The festival culminates with the parade on Sunday. The streets along the parade route are lined with booths full of food, all of which is free to everyone—honoring one of the three main pillars of the Sikh religion: sharing one's earnings with others who are less fortunate. (The Sikh Temples also honor this idea by serving free food to the needy every day of the year.)

A reproduction of a Sikh temple in the 2009 Sikh Parade. Photo by queerbychoice.

The Sikh Festival and Parade has been held annually since 1979. The Sikh population in Sutter County is one of the largest outside the Punjab state of India.

A float in the 2009 Sikh Parade commemorates the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Lettering on the left says, 'Remember 1984,' while the sign on the right says, '20,000 Butchered in Delhi, 25,000 Made Disappeared in Punjab. A Community Bruised. A Diaspora Tarnished. Still We Rise.' Photo by queerbychoice.

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