YUBA CITY, Calif. — More than 200,000 people are expected to head to Yuba City in the coming days for the annual Sikh Festival.
Touted as the largest Sikh Festival outside of India, the festival brings thousands to the small city with its fireworks, bazaar and parade.
Tejinder Singh Dosanjh, secretary for the Sikh Temple in Yuba City, said crews have been working day and night to support the 44th event for the thousands eagerly awaiting the event.
The event kicks off Nov. 3 with the fireworks show continues through Nov. 5 with the Nagar Kirtan parade.
What is Nagar Kirtan?
Nagar Kirtan is an annual celebration during the first weekend of November that captures the essence of what it means to be a Sikh in America.
This celebration also marks the 550th birthday of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.
What will be there?
For anyone not already familiar with the event, the big highlights of the festival are the fireworks show, bazaar and parade.
The bazaar will feature more than 300 shops where people can buy various goods, like blankets, textiles, clothing and other goods. In addition, there'll be plenty of vendors offering food for hungry guests.
Another highlight is the fireworks show. This will happen on Nov. 3, starting around 9 p.m.
The final highlight is the Nagar Kirtan parade on Nov. 5 The Sikh Parade will start at 11 a.m. with a float-bearing Guru Granth Shaib and dozens of decorative floats. The parade will take a 4.5-mile loop around the streets of the city. It'll start at the temple on 2468 Tierra Buena Road.
Parade Route
The parade starts at the Sikh Temple and follows a route onto Tierra Buena Rd., Butte House Rd, Civic Center Blvd., Poole Blvd. and Tharp Rd. before returning to the temple.
Parking
The Yuba-Sutter Transit will be operating a free off-site parking lot shuttle service for the annual parade on Nov. 5. There'll be about 22 buses available to shuttle people between River Valley High School and the intersection of Hooper Road and True Road. The first bus leaves at 8 a.m. and the last bus departs from Hooper and True at 6 p.m.
At the school, passengers can board in the visitor parking lot on Spirit Way, between Harter Parkway and El Margarita Road. Parking is available in the west and east high school lots with overflow parking nearby on El Margarita Road, southwest of the school.
Guests should expect significant traffic and congestion. According to the Yuba City Police Department, the neighborhoods primarily affected are north of Colusa Avenue to Pease Road and east of Hooper Avenue to Civic Center Boulevard.
Closures
- Colusa Frontage Road east of George Washington Boulevard - CLOSED east and westbound
- Butte House Road from Hooper Road to Tharp Road - CLOSED
- Tierra Buena Road from Butte House Road to Pease Road - CLOSED
- Harter Parkway north of Colusa Highway—Bus Traffic Only – No Wal-Mart access. For access to businesses in the Wal-Mart center use Tharp Road.
- Other portions of the parade route will be closed as necessary.
No Parking Zones
Police said the following areas will be posted as "No Parking" from Nov. 3 at 4 a.m. to Nov. 5 at 9 p.m.
- Harter Parkway between Spirit Way and Colusa Avenue
- Hooper Road between True Road and McKinley Road
- True Road between Hooper Road and Pepperwood Drive
- Pepperwood Drive between True Road and McKinley Road
- McKinley Rd between Pepperwood Drive and Hooper Road
- Tharp Road from Poole Boulevard to Butte House Road
- Other areas as marked
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