Hundreds of people descended on the streets of Hastings on Saturday as part of the Hawke's Bay Sikh community parade.
The first parade of its kind in the region saw all age groups come together to celebrate the birth of Guru Gobind Singh in the 15th century.
Hastings Sikh community committee member, Hardeep Singh said it was a big day for them in their culture.
"It is a celebration of our 10th guru's 350th birthday. We are so excited we had it here."
"We wanted to make other people aware of who Sikh are. Sikh are a totally different religion and we are the fifth largest religion in the world, with 25 million followers world-wide," Mr Singh said.
Many people attended from all over the country including Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Wellington - a lot more than expected.
The days events included a ceremony at the temple, a meal and martial arts demonstrations around the city centre.
It took about a month of planning to make sure everything was going to turn out perfectly and the Sikh community hopes it will be a recurring event, if the council permits.
"We would like to thank the Hastings City Council for letting us have our celebrations. It was a big effort, and they were helpfull."
They are not alone, with similar parades having already taken place around the country.