OPEN DOORS: Richmond Healthiest And Cleanest Multicultural Communities In Canada

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This year, 42 organizations, places of worship and various institutions opened their doors to the public last weekend.

By Balwant Sanghera

Richmond is well known for many of its special features. It is considered to be one of the healthiest, cleanest and multicultural communities in Canada. The Olympic Oval, Steveston Village, the Highway to Heaven and the rich farming heritage of this community are some of Richmond’s outstanding assets and attractions. For the past several years, the City of Richmond along with Richmond Museum Society as been showcasing what this community has to offer. Doors Open offers an excellent opportunity to explore Richmond’s unique religious, cultural and heritage sites. This year, 42 organizations, places of worship and various institutions opened their doors to the public on Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5.

Among these 42 places this year were four places of worship along our Highway to Heaven (aka #5 Road).  Lingyen Mountain Temple at Williams and #5 Road provided guided tours to Pure Land Buddhist Monastery established in 1999. It was a great way to experience tranquility in the peaceful circular meditation garden and enjoy a free vegetarian lunch. The visitors then moved on to India Cultural Centre of Canada Gurdwara Nanak Niwas down the road.  This spacious place of worship for the Sikh community welcomed visitors on both days. In addition to giving a brief overview about Sikhism and the Indo-Canadian community, volunteers welcomed the visitors with open arms and showed them around. In this regard close to twenty volunteers including students from Cambie Secondary School and community activists took the time to welcome visitors on both days.

While at the Gurdwara, visitors were invited to the Diwan (Prayer) Hall and were given a brief overview of the teachings/philosophy of the Sikh Holy Scripture, Shri Guru Granth Sahib. The visitors were also given brief talk about the growth and development of the Indo-Canadian community in Canada. The tour concluded with light refreshments. It was great to see a large number of visitors from diverse communities take the time to visit the Gurdwara. From the Gurdwara, the visitors moved next door to the Az-Zahraa Islamic Centre. It contains a multipurpose facility featuring amosque, congregational halls,an independent Islamic school and a full-sized gymnasium. The tour included visit to the sacred prayer hallunder a magnificent green dome, demonstration of a Muslim prayer, displays and explanations of the basic beliefs and practices of Islam. The tour concluded with light refreshments.

From the Az-Zahraa Islamic Centre, the visitors had an opportunity to visit B.C. Muslim Association’s Richmond Mosque. This 30 year old mosque is one of the largest mosques in Metro Vancouver. Its traditional architecture is quite impressive. It serves worshippers from the Far East, Middle East, Africa, Indian subcontinent and Europe. This year’s theme was “Experiencing Islam through Arts and Calligraphy” with a focus on Islamic art including a photo gallery and several documentaries. Visitors also had an opportunity to try Arabic calligraphy.

These were just four of the 42 excellent sites for the visitors to enjoy. The organizers as well as the volunteers at each of these special sites did an amazing job in welcoming the visitors and make them feel comfortable. The City of Richmond and Richmond Museum Society must be commended for doing an excellent job in highlighting our community in such an impressive manner.

Balwant Sanghera is a retired School Psychologist and Community Activist.