Canada has the second largest population of Sikhs in the world, after India, and many have made their homes in Vancouver for generations.
As one of the largest Vaisakhi celebrations in the world wraps up in Metro Vancouver, many are aware of the Sikh culture that exists in and around the city these days, but it goes back well over 100 years, as some of the earliest residents in the city after it was founded in 1886 were Sikh.
April is also Sikh Heritage Month in B.C., and Sikh Heritage B.C. has had several events; more are happening.
And so it seems fitting to look back at some of the milestones and moments with five things you probably didn't know about Sikh culture and people in Vancouver.
1. There was a conspiracy to send Sikh immigrants from B.C. to what is now Belize
Sant Teja Singh was a Sikh scholar who was born in 1877 in what is now part of Pakistan. He didn't stay put though and traveled abroad, at one point coming to Vancouver in the early 1900s.
The federal government at the time was trying to laws to not only halt immigration from India, but to also send those who were already living in Canada to British Honduras (as Belize was called at the time).
Singh rallied people against the racist scheme and it was halted.
2. The first gurdwara built in North America was in Vancouver
Up until recently the first gurdwara in the America's was believed to have been the Second Avenue Gurdwara in Vancouver, but Golden, B.C., is challenging that.
However, it appears to still be true that the first one that was purpose-built as a temple was the Kitsilano building. The organization behind it, the Khalsa Diwan Society, was organized in 1906, and two years later the Second Avenue Gurdwara opened, serving around 2,000 people.
3. One of Vancouver's gurdwara was designed by world-renowned architect Arthur Erickson
Arthur Erickson is arguably the most famous architect from Vancouver, garnering many accolades and awards from across the country, and some international awards.
He was the designer of many notable buildings, including several in Vancouver like the provincial courts (along with Robson Square and the redesign of the Vancouver Art Gallery), the Museum of Anthropology, and Paradox Hotel (which was finished after he passed).
Among his many projects was the Gurdwara Sahib on Ross Street, designed in 1968 and built shortly after.
4. The Punjabi Market is the oldest 'Little India' in North America
In 1970 the first shop opened on Main Street between 48th and 51st avenues, and with it the founding of the first 'Little India' in North America.
It gave the Sikh and Punjabi communities in the area a central community to gather, and drew visitors from across Western Canada.
5. A Metro Vancouver Sikh man has the world's longest beard
Sarwan Singh’s has more beard than anyone you know, unless you know him, and then it's the same.
The Sikh man from Surrey has recently had his beard officially measured for the third time by the Guinness World Record's team, and it's now around 2.5 m (more than 8'2").
