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| Dancers perform during the Diversity Festival at the Fairfield Center for Creative Arts, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015. |
September 13, 2015: FAIRFIELD — Hundreds of members of the Solano County Sikh community, as well as many other non-Sikhs, gathered Saturday at the Fairfield Center for Creative Arts for a diversity festival hosted by the Punjabi-American Cultural Association.
The festival began as a simpler event in the months immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Prabhjeet Grewal explained that the Sikh Temple in Fairfield was the subject of violence and vandalism in the weeks immediately after the attacks.
“We knew we needed to do something to help explain to our neighbors who we are, what our culture is and what our values are,” Grewal said.
The event started mainly as community round tables and other forums aimed at understanding.
“There was a great need for an event where people could come together and understand each other better,” said Gurpreet Dhugga. “The more you understand each other, the more you understand there are more similarities than differences.”
According to literature provided at the event by the Punjabi-American Cultural Association, that is true. Most components of the Sikh religion are similar to so-called Western religions, including the idea there is a single God responsible for all creation.
These similarities helped the Sikh Temple work with other area churches in interfaith movements for the betterment of the community, drawing on this commonality.
From there, the event added more and more cultural demonstrations and has started to include cultural demonstrations from non-Sikh cultures.
“We do feel the awareness has grown in Solano County,” Dhugga said. “We’ve seen more and more people from different cultures coming to our temple for different events.”
A short film during the event outlined Sikh contributions, for instance, during both World War I and World War II. Through these efforts, the festival and other events, non-Sikhs have come to better understand the Sikh community, which gets to the original intent of the event.
“People used to come and ask why I wear a turban or what my religion is,” Dhugga said. “Now, people are starting to ask me if I am a Sikh, so I think it’s working out.”
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Diversity Festival offers look at Sikh faith, other cultures
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| Harpal Singh, left, playing the tabla, Nirvair Singh, playing the harmonium, and Hardeep Singh, right, perform at the start of the Punjabi-American Cultural Association's Diversity Festival, at the Fairfield Center for Creative Arts, in 2013. (Daily Republic file) |
September 11, 2015: FAIRFIELD — The Punjabi-American Cultural Association will host its annual Diversity Festival at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Fairfield Center for Creative Arts.
The festival aims to bring different communities together and to spread awareness of the Sikh faith. The center is located at 1035 Texas St.
“The Sikhs have suffered due to mistaken identity after the tragic events of 9/11,” said Dr. Gurpreet Dhugga, of the Punjabi-American Cultural Association.
An elderly Sikh-American man was attacked Tuesday in Chicago and was reportedly called a “terrorist” and “bin Laden” by his attacker.
“No American should be afraid to practice their faith in our country,” Inderjit Singh Mukker, the target of the attack, said in news reports.
The local Sikh community hopes that events such as the festival help those who aren’t members of the faith understand their beliefs, which include sharing their blessings with the less fortunate and that all are one creation of God.
The event includes special guest Surjit Patar, a Punjabi-language writer and poet. He has traveled from India for the event.
Singer Babbu Gurpal will entertain. Filipino dances will be included. A documentary on Sikhs in World Wars I and II will be shown. An interfaith choir will sing. Traditional Punjabi dance will be showcased.
The Sikh community has grown from a few hundred in 2000 to about 7,000 in Solano County, Dhugga said.
The temple on Rockville Road is the only place of worship for Sikhs between Sacramento and Pinole, he said.
“Diversity makes our country unique, vibrant and the greatest in the world,” Dhugga said. “Our country is not only the leader of the world politically but also in human values due to its diversity and tolerance. ”
The Punjabi-American Cultural Association was formed after the events of 9/11. The organization has been in the Fairfield Independence Day parade, handing out water bottles. They also donate jackets and blankets to the homeless during winter.
The festival is free. Early arrival is suggested as seating is limited.
For more information, call 631-7810 or 373-9451 or visit www.pacassociation.org.