More than 13,000 NRI Punjabis attended the tenth Annual Punjabi American Festival
in Yuba City

Yuba City, California,. June 03, 2004
Harbans Grewal

More than 13,000 NRI Punjabis attended the tenth Annual Punjabi American Festival in Yuba City , California It was held at Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds on Sunday, May 30. It was sponsored by the Punjabi American Heritage Society of Yuba City, the festival is a way for those with Punjabi roots to celebrate and share their culture.

Miles away, one can notice the flowing native dresses and colorful turbans, which added to the cosmopolitan air of the fairgrounds. Participants enjoyed the tantalizing tastes of the exotic foods of Northern India along with Punjabi clothing, jewelry, art, books and more.

The Punjabi American Heritage Society was established in 1993. The purpose of this organization is to bring awareness among local American people, including the American born Punjabis, about the Punjabi culture. In the past ten years, many events have been organized to improve awareness and to educate fellow Americans.

More than 300 hundred local performing artists, including students from California schools, colleges and universities, performed traditional Punjabi dances such as Bhangra, Giddha, Jhumar, Malwai Giddha, and modern dances. The Surrey India Art Club from Canada and award winning UC Davis teams made a special appearance at this event. There was also a guest appearance by a gifted new singer Taraunpreet Kaur from Punjab, India. The festival ended on a high note, highlighted by internationally acclaimed artist, Jazzy Bains (AKA Jazzy B) from UK. Thousands of youngsters and people of all ages danced for three hours to his live music and songs.

The Tut brothers of Radio Geet Sangeet (Watsonville) were honored for their community service.Dr. Daisy Rockwell of South Asian studies department UC Berkeley was honored for her promotion of Punjabi Studies by Society members Satnam Tatla and Jessie Banga. As Masters of Ceremonies, Asha Sharma did a fantastic job, along with Ruby Deol, Davinder Deol, Suky Bains and Esha Dhesi. Society president, Hitpal Deol, announced scholarship plans for local youth pursuing higher education in the amount of ten thousand dollars. Mr Hardeep Dhadli and Amrik Dhugga presented plaque on behalf of PAHS to Jazzy Bains for his contribution to music and Punjabi heritage. Dr Jasbir Singh Kang, founding member of PAHS, thanked every one for their participation and assistance for putting such a massive and successful event.

Local leaderss and officials including Congressman Wally Herger, Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, Supervisor Jim Whitaker, and Yuba City Unified School District Board Member, Mary Chin were also there and honored for their contributions to the Punjabi Community.

The Tut brothers of Radio Geet Sangeet (Watsonville) were honored for their community service.Dr. Daisy Rockwell of South Asian studies department UC Berkeley was honored for her promotion of Punjabi Studies by Society members Satnam Tatla and Jessie Banga. As Masters of Ceremonies, Asha Sharma did a fantastic job, along with Ruby Deol, Davinder Deol, Suky Bains and Esha Dhesi. Society president, Hitpal Deol, announced scholarship plans for local youth pursuing higher education in the amount of ten thousand dollars. Mr Hardeep Dhadli and Amrik Dhugga presented plaque on behalf of PAHS to Jazzy Bains for his contribution to music and Punjabi heritage. Dr Jasbir Singh Kang, founding member of PAHS, thanked every one for their participation and assistance for putting such a massive and successful event.

During the past 100 years, the Punjabi population in the Yuba Sutter area has grown to be one of the largest in the United States. Punjabis were the first group of people from South Asia to start migrating to the United States more than a century ago. Between 1903-1908, Punjabis primarily worked on the Western Pacific Railways in Northern California. And two thousand Punjabis worked on a 700-mile road between Oakland and Salt Lake City, which today is modern interstate 80.

The growing network of railroad lines brought increased agricultural activity to large areas of the Sacramento Valley. Because of their agricultural experience from the Punjab Indus Valley, which historians acknowledge was one of the first civilizations to invent agriculture, Punjabis started moving into farming jobs. Today Punjabis play a vital role in the agricultural industry of the entire Central and Sacramento Valley's, and make up a majority of the South Asian population while also working in professional business professions.