YUBA CITY, Calif. — More than 200,000 people are expected in Yuba City this weekend for the 44th Annual Sikh Festival.
“We are lucky to have the festival in my hometown,” said Rajwant.
He and his friends have cooked for the festival since 2008. They get together as group, pulling their money together to cook for 200,000 people for free over the three-day celebration of Nagar Kirtan.
“It’s the birth of our religious book, we call them as a living guru,” said attendee Maninder Gill.
Gill’s attended the festival with her family for the last eight years.
“We serve different food because in our culture it is important to have open gates to every culture. Everybody can come, everybody can eat, people in need… they don’t need to pay for it, they can come and eat. It’s more about our core values to respect every culture, every people,” said Gill.
She says it’s also a chance to connect generations through culture and pass down teachings.
“Even my mom, my parents, live in Toronto. They come especially for this. I see so many people that just come to celebrate this thing here,” she said.
It’s the largest Sikh festival outside of India.
Rajwant says a lot of people come from around the state from places as far as Los Angeles to the Bay Area.
Friday’s main event is the fireworks show scheduled for 9 p.m. The festival is open to all.
The bazaar will continue through the weekend and the parade is scheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday.
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. The celebration also marks the 550th birthday of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.
Parade information and route
The Sikh Parade will start at 11 a.m. Sunday with a float-bearing Guru Granth Shaib. 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 Rd.
The parade starts at the Sikh Temple and follows a route onto Tierra Buena Road, Butte House Road, Civic Center Boulevard, Poole Boulevard and Tharp Road before returning to the temple.
Parking
Yuba-Sutter Transit will be operating a free off-site parking lot shuttle service for the parade. 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.
Road closings
- 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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