TEXAS, USA—More than Five hundreds thousand Americans welcomed Sikhs at the US Thanksgiving Day parade in Houston TX.
The parade was seen by approximately 17 million viewers in Texas cities such as Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, as well as other towns throughout the region.
A swelling crowd of 500,000 spectators hailed the Sikh group with loud clapping and approval. They were followed by 75 Sikh men and women representing various gurdwaras of the Houston area.
They were walking in lines and were carrying American flags and waived at the audience as they walked by. Gursharn Singh, leader of the Miri Piri Gatka Group said, “This was a great chance to show that Sikhs are part of the mainstream America and that we are equally joyous in the Thanksgiving celebrations.
“A float carrying a heading that said “Sikhs of America”. Around 5000 pens that said ” Sikhs of America ” were distributed among the crowds. There were people all over the place. There was people all along the side walks layered on top of each other and the parking garages that were 10 stories high were full and you couldn’t see a single spot empty. Along the routes we were playing religious songs with Punjabi dhol beat and talking to the crowd on the sound systems. Everybody loved it and talked to us, hugged us, took photos, and cheered us on to do more. All Gatka team members were dressed in white attire with a yellow dastar and kamar kasa. Everyone loved the outfits and cheered us on to preform. This was a great opportunity to showcase our Sikhi and be part of a American holiday celebration. The gatka kids worked so hard to make this a success , we thank them and their parents for supporting us along the way.”
Gursharn Singh added that he made this team two months before the Thanksgiving parade, “The gatka kids worked and practiced very hard for the parade and I can say it turned out amazing. They kids never complained about bugs, the freezing weather, or anything else during gatka practice. They always came on time and gave it their best during practice. Their hardwork paid off and you could see that at the parade. All the kids and adults had fun.”