USA: Rose Parade Features First-Ever Sikh Float

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“The theme of this year’s Rose Parade is inspiring American stories. That is why the Sikh American story was such a great fit for the parade organizers this year.”

Photo ABC TV Screen-grab

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Huffington Post
By Antonia Blumberg | January 2, 2014

Every year on New Year's Day the Pasadena Rose Parade hits the streets to showcase the history and culture of Southern California and the country at large. This year, for the first time ever, the parade hosted a float that celebrated the important and little-known history of Sikhs in America -- and it couldn't have come at a better time.

In the midst of hate crimes and verbal attacks, the float told another side of the roughly 125-year history of Sikhs in America. A collaboration of United Sikh Mission, SikhLens, Khalsa Care Foundation, SALDEF and a team of dedicated Sikhs around the country, the float aimed to raise awareness about Sikhism in America, both past and present.

“The theme of this year’s Rose Parade is inspiring American stories," Rashpal Dhindsa, founder of United Sikh Mission told the Huffington Post. "That is why the Sikh American story was such a great fit for the parade organizers this year.”

The float was modeled after the Stockton Gurdwara, the first Sikh house of worship established in the United States 102 years ago, SALDEF said in a press release. Also included in the design was a cornucopia and a locomotive to represent Sikh laborers and farmers like Didar Singh Bains, known as the ‘Peach King of California’ for growing the largest number of peaches in the country.

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