Yuba City Punjabi Festival Honours US Lawmakers, Punjabi Film & Music Stars & Local Heroes

Thousands of people of all races joined in the celebration of the 19th annual International Punjabi American Festival here on Sunday.

The Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds, the venue of this so-called Punjabi mela, was turned into a mini-Punjab as crowds listened to top-notch Punjabi singers and savored delicious Punjabi delicacies on a bright, sunny day.

The highlight of the day-long festival was the honoring of California Assemblyman Dan Logue for moving Resolution ACR20 in the California State Assembly for introduction of Sikhism in higher education curriculum and Congressman John Garamendi for his support to the community.

“The honor is our to say our very big thank-you to Mr Logue and Mr Garamendi for always supporting us,’’ one of the organizers told newseastwest.com.

Sponsored by the Punjabi American Heritage Society (PAHS) of Yuba City, the festival celebrates Punjabi roots of the local community and promotes awareness about its traditions and culture among the other American communities.

Kicking off at 11 am, the festival continued till 7.30 pm as top stars from the Punjabi entertainment industry regaled the audiences.

Singer Feroz Khan, who belted out his hit numbers, kept the audience spell-bound as did Rupinder Handa with her emotional songs. Both the singers were honoured for their services to Punjabi music.

The attraction of the day-celebration were Daljit Dosanj and Neeru Bajwa, the leading stars of Jatt and Juliet even as solo artists and bhangra and gidha teams kept the audiences rivetted with their thrilling performances.

Among them were upcoming local Punjabi singer Babu Gurpal, four young girls with big smiles, and Kunjan Punjab Dian girls bhangra with Bhavkaran standing on Amarpreet’s shoulders. In between, the mixed audience was treated a Mexican-American performance.

On the occasion, the organizers also honoured members of Seva, a young group that has taken up the initiative to serve those in need. They were give $1,000 to promote their cause.

Formed about a year ago, the group feeds the homeless once a week in Sacramento and once a month in San Francisco. Apart from serving 13,000 meals so far, Seva also provide clothes to the homeless. (News East West)