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| CELEBRATION: Sikhs gather at their Middlesbrough temple on Lorne Street in preparation for a procession to Centre Square to mark the Nagar Kirtan festival. Picture: CHRIS BOOTH |
Sunday 12 July 2015: HUNDREDS of Sikhs reached out to other members of the community to celebrate the Nagar Kirtan religious festival today (Sunday, July 12)
Food was given away and there was fun family activities, including an inflatable assault course set up by the Army, face-painting and a martial arts display in Central Square Middlesbrough as part of the colourful event.
The fun day followed a lively procession with the Sikh holy book, called Guru Granth Shaib Ji, through the streets of the town and members of the Sikh community, established on Teesside since 1946, wore orange or blue and sang devotional hymns.
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| CELEBRATION: Sikhs gather at their Middlesbrough temple on Lorne Street in preparation for a procession to Centre Square to mark the Nagar Kirtan festival. Picture: CHRIS BOOTH |
Volunteer Gurmayre Singh, explained that a key part of the day is meeting people from outside the Sikh community and offering food.
He said: "The Nagar Kirtan is an open invitation to all, as Sikhism does not differentiate between cast, colour, creed or gender. So everyone is welcome to take part. The Teesside Sikh community is very proud of both its Sikh and North Eastern English heritage and has been growing since the late 1940s in Middlesbrough."
The Middlesbrough Gurdwara was first founded on Milton Street and then established on Southfield Road, Middlesbrough in the 1960s. As the Sikh community grew it was then relocated to the current bigger premises found on Lorne Street again in Middlesbrough in 1990.
Sikhs from the large Thornaby community also supported the event and others came from across the North-East.