Shoulder-to-shoulder crowds gather for Sutter County’s annual Sikh parade
Shoulder-to-shoulder crowds gathered at the Sikh temple in Sutter County Sunday for an annual celebration that has grown exponentially in its 46 years of existence.
Roads surrounding the temple were closed, and people packed the grounds of the Gurdwara Sahib Yuba City for food, community, worship and parade.
Officials’ expectations for attendance ranged from 100,000 to 200,000 over the course of three days of festivities, and previous years’ attendees said it typically draws visitors from across the United States.
“Everyone knows that the Yuba City Nagar Kirtan is kind of the place to be,” said Harman Singh, executive director of the Sikh Coalition. “It is quite overwhelming, but also beautiful.”
A helicopter dropped flower petals over revelers at the gurdwara Sunday morning. Across the street from the temple, a sprawl of vendors sold clothing, jewelry, toys, fabric and instruments.
Hundreds of people lined up for free food, a staple of the event. Businesses, broadcast stations and immigration and humanitarian groups staffed booths around the grounds.
People come to feel “a genuine sense of belonging,” said Aasees Kaur, community development director for the Sikh Coalition.
“It’s a space where we get to share our stories, on our terms,” Kaur said, as she hosted a crafts program for children, and offered them a collection of books by Sikh authors and with Sikh characters.
Organizers spend all year planning for the annual three-day religious celebration. Mayor Dave Shaw said Yuba City officials began planning in January, and spent “no less than hundreds of hours” preparing.
“We, as a city and a region, we are honored to have this here in our community,” he said.
For the parade, floats and tractors departed the temple around 11 a.m., south into Yuba City.
It was a stark contrast to the first annual parade in 1979, attended by around 2,000 people with one float, said Sarbjit Thiara, the president of the temple. “This parade is getting bigger and bigger every year,” Thiara said.
Planning for next year, Thiara said, would begin Monday.
This story was originally published November 2, 2025 at 2:58 PM with the headline "Shoulder-to-shoulder crowds gather for Sutter County’s annual Sikh parade."