Vaisakhi is the festival which celebrates the founding of the Sikh order of Khalsa.

During the parade the street is lined with Sikhs who celebrate by handing out mounds of incredible Indian food! This year’s parade in Vancouver is happening on April 13, 2013. Sometimes I am so busy eating that I forget to take photos, but here are a few from previous years.

Vaisakhi chickpea curry and some kind of spongey Indian bread whose name escapes me. 

Girls running in the wind. Jalebi, an Indian sweet. 
How jalebi is made… a favourite Indian sweet. This deep-fried dough dunked in sugar syrup will put you into diabetic shock in one bite! They told us that about 40,000 people attended Vaisakhi in Vancouver and I think most of them were lined-up for these super sweet giveaways. Well worth the wait when I finally got my hands on one, still warm and gooey…

The music and sounds in the background were ‘videotaped’ at the event with my ancient Olympus. The videos of the performances are tiny (240 x 360px). I also have this bad tendency to tape them vertically (portrait) so they are mostly sideways in the horizontal video format. The primary dance is Banghra. Warning: it’s contagious – I couldn’t stop dancing! 

The Vancouver Parade is held along Main between 41st and Marine Drive.
Lady rider. Motorcycles in abundance and everyone gets to try them. Here Al is showing the motorcycle’s owner how to work his camera. There are some interesting musical instruments in the parade…
Vasaikhi- the tiny dancer – see the concentration…
Yellow Indian rice flavoured with tumeric and spices…
Pakora with spicy tomato dipping sauce. (How to make Pakora, delicious deep-fried treats that go great with Kingfisher Beer.)Orange is the colour of the Ross Street Temple and it created a sea of celebratory colour in the crowds.