For the third straight year, there will be no Vaisakhi Khalsa Day Parade in Surrey.
Originally planned for April 23, 2022 organizers with Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar (the Sikh Gurdwara behind the parade) announced on March 7 that it would not be going forward. They point to uncertain public health protocols as the reason.
"We feel it would be irresponsible on our part to go forward at this time and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on deposits and expenditures in preparation for the event only to have sporadic and last-minute changes to the public health orders in the future and be pushed to cancel the event later and lose donations which are for supporting important programs in our community,” says Gurdwara president Moninder Singh.
Organizing the massive event takes a year of preparation, organizers add, and they did not feel they could do the event justice if late changes to public health rules impacted how the event could be held.
"We are disappointed at how this year has turned out but look forward to gathering again as a community for the Surrey Khalsa Day (Vaisakhi) Parade in 2023,” says Singh in the press release.
The annual event was last held in 2019 and typically drew 500,000 for the one-day parade. It was considered the largest parade of its kind in the world. In 2020 and 2021 it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
