_ INSIDE a SECTION B ~ COMMUNITY _ EVENTS B2 638-7283 AT THE MARKET? LYNNE CHRISTIANSEN Fifteen years HE SKEENA Valley Farmers Market is 15 years old this sea- son. The market began with an idea Margo Van Kleek had for organizing a few people to sell local pro- duce. Margo and her husband Bill moved from Kitimat to Terrace in 1980. They bought a farm at Old Remo. Margo was busy with small children at = —_— i — a that time. Bill was teaching school. They | KHALSA DAY celebrations at Terrace’s Sikh Temple culminated Sikhs who choose to live by the faith's strongest moral cade, The were interested in direct marketing their Saturday, Apri) 18 with the raising of the temple's brightly decorated holiday is also the same time as Baisakhi, an Indian festival farm produce. flag. The day is in honour of the Khalsa, or pure ones — baptized: celebrating the cutting of the first harvest of wheat. The school district offered the use of a Lo , classroom for their first meeting in April of ie S i kh CO u n i ty is reaching out 1983. Indo-Canadians ready to play a bigger role It was a malter of organizing a time and place for people to bring local produce to LEADERS of ‘Terrace’s Sikh Sikh families in Terrace have now matured Temple are mapping out a new beyond the nonmal tendency of an im- the market. course that they hope will give local Migrant ethnic minority to be very insular Gil Cobb, who was working for the city, was very helpful in setling up a group : ' in cfforts to build the institutions necded to Sikhs a more full and integrated role preserve its Janguage, culture and religion a licensing plan for the market. The radio sta- tion ran free ads to get the market going. Margo had approached the farmers’ in- stitute for help and advice. They told her that her idea would never work. They were wrong. The community sup- port was there in the midst of a logging recession. The market took off and has been of in the local community. in the new country. going strong ever since. CLEANSING: Shangara Singh Kandola watches as = One of the first demonstrations of that Indeed, some of Terrace’s: Sikhs have There were about 10. vendors. when. the Darshan Kaur Fakhar pours a mixture of milk and new approach came April 18 when the now been here three decades, and some are farmers market first got, started in 1983. water over the flag pole to purify it before it's raised. © community gathered at the Mgdeck second and third-generation Canadians. Some are still with us today — Lena co” Ave. temple to celebrate Khalsa Day, Sikhs here have been very successful in Chapplow, Vienneaus, Koerners, Judy Tes- saro, Ken Bruce (K&K Meats). Over the years we have hired a gate person. Doris Scott, Sheri and Noel Reidy, Elmer Schmidt, Peter Sorenson, and Gordon Sheridan have helped out with this job. The market started out-in the library parking lot. ihe most significant day of the religion, work and business ventures, creating jobs — during which a flag is raised. and helping expand (the local economy. ; In addition to much of the local Sikh Now, says Gill, it’s time to branch out in community, some other local representa- other ways. tives were on hand to receive sizable dona- We do not want to always live In a tions from the Skeena Valley Guru Nanak watertight compartment,” Gillsaid, = Brotherhood, the socicty that operates the We want to open up and share with temple. other people and become a real part of ithe The REM. Lee Hospital Foundation's ©Hadian society. Marilyn Davies, and Bill and Helene McRae were there to accept a cheque for “ more than $1,000 to assist with the founda- We want fo open up and tion’s ongoing efforts to purchase more Share with other people and equipment for the hospital. become a real part of the Ca And then temple members packed a large §=ppaeijan society. iad number of cartons of non-perishable food items into a truck destined for the Salvation Anny’'s Food Bank. That, Gill says, means a desire to fully The food donation was perhaps particu- share in not just the freedoms that Canada larly appropriate in light of the fact that enjoys bul also the problems and challenges Khalsa Day also coincides with the it grapples with as well. Baisakhi, an [ndian festival that marks the | Besides donations and community work, There were about 10 vendors when the farmers market first got started in 1983. Some are still with us today — Lena Chapplow, Vienneaus, Koerners, Judy Tes- saro, Ken Bruce. In 1990 the city officially dedicated the Davis Street lot for the market use. A dai i , harvest of the first crap of wheat. he said, temple leaders have plans to ex- 1998 Ny ae Snare $5 a aye eu N60 fee a ie: eee = aan “This is great — these are all items we pand and renovate the temple, and update season THE SALVATION ARMY's Food Bank received a °" use,’? said Christine Simmons of the _ their constitution. , , £ . ’ . The Northweest Community College built the large quantity of nonperishable food donated by the - Salvation Army food bank, adding they ex- Like other churches, they re also inter- steel canopy structure in 1991. Sikh Temple during its Khalsa Day ceremony. pect to operate all summer long in anticipa- ested in keeping the teachings of their faith Ian Gordon and Lori Merrill have become in- lion of the effects of the difficulleconomy. —_ relevant to youth. volved with the f Ravi Gill, speaking on behalf of temple ‘That means strongly promoting the devel- ’ ofved with the farmers market from the early KHALSA DAY leaders, said the donations reflect a desire opment of Punjabi language courses inthe, years. ft desir of the temple and the Sikh community in school system. eaten been a board member “a 10 year te @ Set aside to honour the Khalsa or the pure | general to.play a broader role in the Terrace But they’re also exploring the delivery of market. y © suecess one ones, It’s the most significant day on the Sikh community, the religion’s message in English for those calendar. _ It’s perhaps a signal that the 130-plus children who don’t fully learn Punjabi. This year Tan has resigned from the board as | wuit's directly tled to Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th he and his wife Lori will be going to Winnipeg | and most Important guru of the Sikh faith, who for one year in July. three centurles ago created the Khalsa order of We will miss them a lot and Jook forward to baptized Sikhs, who voluntarily commit them- secing them down al the market the following selves to a high moral standard. The Kirpan dag- year, ger or sword carried by a Khalsa |s not consider- I would also like to thank Ian for all his hard ad a weapon, but rather a symbol of dignity and work over the past decade. the Slkh struggle agalnst injustice. Ian hopes the future of the market will see a W The festivities include the continuous un- firm committment from the city for a permanent broken reading for 48 hours of the scriptures in market site, the Granth Sahib, the holy book that Is consider- Margo Van Kleek is very pleased with the ed to be the living embodiment of the 11th and | way the market has developed over the ycars. final guru. She feels it has good community support and Wf The Sikh religion is relatively recent, dating will just keep on going, back only to the 15th century, It was founded by Margo is no longer a farmer — she actually Guru Nanak in the Punjab area of what Is today sold her farm down al the market, Indla. The religion includes many Hindu doc- Our board members at present are John Vink, trines, but Is also heavily influenced by Islam, Lena Chapplow, Emma Kocmer, Deiter Bahr, from which It takes Its bellef in a single god. Ron Town, Norm Carey and myself, Lynne | gg Besides purging the |dea of multiple gods, the Christiansen. Sikhs also dispensed with the Hindu caste sys- Our gate person this year is Doris Scott, tem, Instead preaching a message of equality, An added nate that we must mention atleast a brotherhood and freedom fer all. few times each season: No dogs allowed at the | jg Expecta really blg celebration atthe temple —. market, My apologies to the pooches, however, when Khalsa Day rolls around agaln In 1999. you never know when Rover has to go and we That’s because It will be the 300th anniversary of . can't risk the health hazards of having plants the founding of the Khalsa order by Guru Gobind and vegetables etc. damaged. So please do not | Singh. bring your dog to the market. @ Anyone Is welcome to visit the temple during = The first market day of our 1998 season is this services and partake of a vegetarian meal there. = a —_ Saturday, May 2, The market is open 9 a.m. to The only requirements are that visitors not smoke CONTINUOUS READING: Baljit Kaur Takhar reads from the Granth Sahib, the noon and will be open on Wednesdays at4p.m. | or drink In the temple, and that they cover their holy book of the Sikh religion and considered to be the 14th guru and the living as well, Hope to see you all there. head and remove their shoes. . embodiment of the previous 10 human gurus. ote Bi 2