Every April, millions of Sikhs world-wide celebrate Vaisakhi Day, a day that marks both the New Year and the anniversary of one of Sikhism's most important events, the establishment of Khalsa in 1699 with the first Amrit ceremony.

The Vaisakhi Parade in Vancouver attracts tens of thousands of spectators every year. This year staff, students and parents from Moberly Elementary marched in the parade and also had large float.

Moberly is working to raise funds for a much-needed new playground and the Vaisakhi Parade was an excellent opportunity to connect with the school's community and to get the message out.

"Our Moberly float came together due to the hard work of three of our families who worked tirelessly to find the resources needed and decorate the float," says Moberly Principal Patti Plottel. "Riding in the parade was a marvelous cultural experience for me as I had a chance to talk with so many members of our community who all expressed support for our being part of this important neighbourhood celebration."  

Kirpal Thandi, a parent at Moberly and one of the key organizers of the Moberly float said that it was because of the school's strong parent community and the generosity of the Sikh community, including the Ross Street Temple that the school was able to participate in the parade. "The parents are really the reason this is happening," said Thandi. "I could never have done any of this without their help."

Says Plottel, "The students loved being part of the parade with us and worked hard to get donations for our playground. We ended up collecting about $1500 which will help us get to our playground goal. A huge thank to our dedicated staff members who gave up their Saturday to help us out." 

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