The 39th annual Sikh Festival has officially commenced
A colorful bazaar filled with cultural elements from Punjab, India, as well as Sikh spiritual items will be a big part of the festivities this weekend in Yuba City.
The Sikh Temple on Tierra Buena Road will feature a plethora of activity on Saturday starting at 9 a.m., including the bazaar and a mix of food for people to sample.
“The importance of the bazaar is for non-punjabi people to see the culture and the many different colors of things that you can buy from the original country,” said Harbhajan Dheri, with the Sikh Temple. “The clothes we wear, blankets and rugs plus the material used and many other things will be there.”
He said the bazaar will be located on the south side of the temple and he welcomes everyone to get a feel for the culture.
“There will be a turbantying area that everyone is welcome to come and try,” he said. “It’s free for everyone.”
What’s also free, on Saturday and Sunday, is a wide variety of food options that are rooted in the culture.
“On the north side of the temple, there are 15-20 places to taste food – traditional food from Punjab and some Americanized food,” he said. “It’s all free and on Sunday there will be about 70-80 more food options along the parade route.”
The parade kicks off about 10 a.m. on Sunday and buses will pick up people who don’t want to battle with traffic and parking at one of two places: River Valley High School or Yuba College’s Sutter County Campus.
“As far as travel around town that day goes, it would be best to take care of any shopping you may have along the Butte House Road corridor early in the morning before the parade starts as some routes get closed off at certain times,” said Lt. Jim Runyen, with the Yuba City Police Department. “Many of the parking lots do not allow Sikh Parade parking and make all attempts for shoppers to conduct their daily business.”
Runyen said the department is at maximum staffing levels to cover normal patrol efforts as well as the parade.
“The entire department, minus those assigned to patrol that day, is working spread out along the Sikh parade route within our jurisdiction,” he said. “In addition to that, California Highway Patrol provides staffing and a private security company handles the barricading along roads and staffs some intersections.”