Sharing the celebration

Apr 25 2005 By James Cartledge

THE sun shone on up to 70,000 revellers who packed a city park for Birmingham's huge Vaisakhi celebrations.

Handsworth Park was a hub of activity as members of the Sikh community rolled out the welcome mat to all faiths.

Families enjoyed funfair rides, arts and crafts shows and sporting entertainment. Free meals were also laid on to highlight the importance attached by Sikhs to the sharing of food.

The celebrations, which marked the creation of Sikhism as a collective faith in 1699, were organised by the Council of Sikh Gurdwaras in Birmingham.

The organisation's assistant general secretary, Gurdial Singh Atwal, said the event was a huge feather in Birmingham's cap and was being copied by other cities in Britain and across Europe.

"It was an absolutely fantastic day and we had crowds of around 70,000," said Mr Atwal, who is also a Labour councillor for Handsworth Wood. "We were the first city in Britain to hold celebrations of this kind and now people come from all over the place to see how we do it."

T h e d a y began with two street parades which started at places of worship in Smethwick and Hockley, and converged on the park. They featured five Sikh men dressed in ceremonial costume to represent the original Panj Pyare, or beloved ones, who founded the Sikh faith.

The success of the day was hailed by Birmingham's leisure boss, Coun John Alden.

"Events like Vaisakhi help bring communities together and we were delighted to support the Council of Sikh Gurdwaras in organising this special event in the Sikh calendar," he said.