Yuba City’s 44th annual Nagar Kirtan Festival drew large crowds over the weekend. Sikh Americans, alongside other community members, gathered to celebrate Nagar Kirtan and Sikh culture.
According to KCRA 3, organizers expected the festival to draw nearly 300,000 people, but an official count has not been announced yet.
The festival was held at the Gurdwara Sahib in Yuba City and kicked off on Friday, November 3. There was a fireworks show that day at 9 p.m. to mark the beginning of the festival. On Sunday, the final day of the festival, the Yuba City Sikh community hosted a parade, ABC 10 reports.
According to CBS News, the festival is in its fourth decade. The FBI and the California Highway Patrol help with security because the event has grown. It is now the largest Sikh festival outside of India.
Yuba City is a small, rural city just north of Sacramento. Sikh community leaders say many Sikh Americans have a connection to Yuba City.
“The majority of the roots that are all over the world, they go somehow through Yuba City, so anybody you know worldwide – they’ve been touched with Yuba City — somehow there’s a connection,” Sarjbit Thiara, president of the Sikh Temple, told KCRA 3.
The festival also attracts visitors from outside of California.
“Even my mom, my parents, live in Toronto. They come especially for this. I see so many people that just come to celebrate this thing here,” attendee Maninder Gill told ABC 10.
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