The Vaisakhi celebrations will take place in Handsworth Park on Sunday 26 April to mark the Sikh nation’s collective birthday. The festival is one of the largest in Europe and welcomes up to 100,000 people on the day. The event will be a free and opened to all families and members of the community and will include Sikh cultural activities, children’s inflatable play area, arts and crafts exhibitions and sports and entertainment.

There will be a Langar area, marquee in which free food is served, and various Gurdwaras from Birmingham and the Black Country which will prepare the food. The event will also be the occasion to open the Sikh faith to all communities in order to understand the values.

“Vaisakhi 2013” by Guy Evans used under Creative Commons 2.0

What is Vaisakhi?

The event celebrates the birth of Sikh Khalsa. On this day in April 1699, The Tenth and last Guru Ji handed over his spiritual authority to a body of his followers.

The event is based on pillars of the Sikh faith:

• Celebrating honest hard work.
• Sikhs sharing with their brothers and sisters from around the world the almighty spirit’s bounty.
• The oneness of creation and its joyful celebration through hymns and prayers.