Nagar Kirtan Parade celebrates Sikh faith in Calgary

The Sikh faith and culture was celebrated Saturday as tens of thousands of people filled the streets in Calgary's northeast for the 19th annual Nagar Kirtan Parade.

Calgary has one of the largest Sikh populations in Canada, and many in the faith say they see events like the annual parade and celebration as a way to ensure traditions are passed on to future generations.

Sukhjeet Kaur saidshe wants herbaby, Apaarjeet Kaur, to be proud of her heritage, but said shesometimes worries about it.

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"It's scary to think that she's growing up in a world where maybe she might be seen as different and she might not want to embrace her Sikh values," she said Saturday.

"And that's totally opposite of what it should be. You should embrace your heritage, you should embrace your culture and be proud of who you are."

Under a tent, Harleen Kaur Virk spent Saturday helping kids embrace their Sikh culture.

She's part of a United Kingdom-based non-profit that's opened in Calgary.

It's called Basics of Sikhi and teaches just that through YouTube videos and courses.

Kaur Virk saidthe lessons aren't only for Sikhs.

"Some of the people are non-Sikh people too, that have been by and they're like, 'wow, thank you.'" she said.

"We've had police officers too who are like, 'we've been here for the last couple of years and we didn't really know what the event is about.'"

She says she hopes the tools will help all Calgarians learn about the Sikh faith.