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Cincinnati Sikhs serve langar, tie turbans at city's Festival of Faiths
Cincinnati Mayor Appreciated the Sikh community for their dedication to Sewa and interfaith unity
Sikh Volunteers at their booth / Images - Supplied
Sikhs from Cincinnati and neighboring Dayton came together to celebrate diversity and unity at the "Cincinnati Festival of Faiths." The yearly celebration by "Equasion" honors the community's diversity and spiritual cohesion.
This year's festival attended by 30 faith organizations representing 13 world religions commenced with a multi-faith prayer service. Aasees Kaur, the late Jaipal Singh's (one of the Festival's original members) wife, spoke about the "Mool Mantar," the central tenets of the Sikh faith.
Cincinnati Mayor, Aftab Pureval with the Sikh community members at the festival.
Offering her prayers, she said,, “May we be blessed by the Grace of the Guru, to merge into the Divine Being, as water merges into water and light merges into light... this is our prayer to dwell together in peace and justice.”
The Sikh booth was one of many religious groups from the Cincinnati area that participated in the fair. booklets outline Sikh values, traditions, and beliefs were distributed to visitors. The exhibition table included books, brochures and Kakkars (5K’s).
Members of the community also hosted turban-tying workshops to educate on the significance of the "dastaar," the traditional Sikh head covering. “Volunteers patiently guided visitors through the process of tying a turban, emphasizing its symbolism of equality, humility and commitment to Sikh values. The festival was immersed in the colors and traditions of the Sikh Culture,” a release stated.
Book reading and Turban Tying for the visitors at the Sikh booth
Community members of the Sikh faith prepare and serve Langar (community kitchen food) at the gathering, every year. This year, the Hindu community members also helped in the langar service.
Sikhs serving langar at the festival.
Appreciating the Sikh Community for their Sewa, the Mayor of Cincinnati, Aftab Purewal, said, “I am proud of the local sikh community not just from the Guru Nanak Society of Greater Cincinnati but Dayton Sikh community as well. We are out here serving langar to various people at the festival. I am excited for the Sikh community to continue to grow, continue to be proud and continue most importantly to share our religion of service and commitment to those around us, lifting up our community. It makes me so proud to see so many people join langar, many for the first time.”
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