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Prince George, B.C. – Thousands of people are expected to take part in today’s annual Vaisakhi parade.

One of the most important dates on the Sikh calendar, it is the Sikh New Year festival and also commemorates 1699, the date Sikhism was born as a collective faith.

One of the organizers of the event, Bally Bassi, says the parade will leave the Guru Nanak Darbar Sikh Temple on Davis Road at 10am and will arrive at CN Centre at 12:30.

“Every year it gets bigger and bigger. The weather looks like it’s going to be amazing,” she says. “It’s open to all the community and we’ll have people coming in on buses from Vancouver, Fort St. James, Houston and so forth.”

Bassi says the celebration at CN Centre will include outdoor displays, announcements, food booths and music.

She adds it’s a celebration of “the culture, and the diversity we have in Prince George.”

Bassi notes organizers are requesting people not smoke and that they cover their heads with scarves in respect of the event.

She says scarves will be provided.