When you live Downtown, you learn to cope with street closures, whether it be for filming or community events such as the Los Angeles Marathon. This afternoon, a few streets shut down for a colorful parade coordinated by the Southern California Gurdwaras in celebration of Baisakhi, the beginning of the new year.

The annual program involves members of the local Sikh community, a religious order founded in fifteenth-century Northern India that holds ties to Hinduism.

The parade, called nagar kirtan, followed this year’s celebration, “The Living Spirit of Guru,” held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Special designs have been created in collaboration with Joginder Singh Siddu in which the floats highlight special Sikh themes, lifestyles and values. The parade portion of the day-long festivities began at 3:00pm and concluded two hours later after following a meandering route through Downtown.

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