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TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011
❚VAISAKHI
Surrey Vaisakhi parade attracts 150,000 Marisa BABIC Staff Reporter
SURREY – Judging by the huge crowds, Surrey deserves its bragging rights for hosting the largest Vaisakhi celebration outside of India. The Surrey Vaisakhi parade, held this past Saturday to commemorate one of the most important religious events on the Sikh calendar, drew a record-breaking 150,000 attendees. Organized by the Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar temple, the 11th annual event drew many local visitors as well as visitors from others parts of Canada and the U.S. See PHOTO GALLERY, thenownewspaper.com Moninder Singh Bual, spokesperson for the Gurdwara, called the event “an incredible day of celebration.” “It was particularly fulfilling to see so many people, including thousands who travelled from across western Canada and the United States, enjoy such a positive community event,” Bual said. The glorious sunshine intensified the kaleidoscope of colours on the streets and put everyone in a cheery mood as they celebrated Vaisakhi.
see THOUSANDS page 3
❚GRAPHIC/Adhil Naidu
This isn’t your father’s way of voting Still new to social media, candidates, voters alike stumble along online as vote day looms
Ted COLLEY Staff Reporter
SURREY – The buzz in this election campaign is all about using social media to reach voters, but is it working? A recent Ipsos Reid poll found just six per cent of Canada’s adult population is logging on to sites like Facebook and Twitter, or traditional media websites, on a daily basis to discuss politics. There’s potential for growth since 21 per cent of those sur-
veyed said they visit such sites weekly, but there’s still a long way to go before social networking sites become mainstream political tools. Perhaps surprisingly, since social media is generally viewed as the preserve of youth, the survey found nearly twice as many Canadian voters middle aged and older connect to such sites to discuss politics on a daily basis than do their younger counterparts. So what do politicians have to do to reach voters online?
Emily Jubenvill speaks for Get Your Vote On, a Vancouverbased organization dedicated to persuading Canadians 18 to 34 years of age to vote. She’s 24 and passionate about the issue. Jubenvill believes social media can play a crucial role in engaging youth in the political process and although her focus is on youth, what she had to say about creating effective online campaigns applies to all voters no matter what their age.
see POLITICAL page 3
❚PHOTO/City of Surrey
These children were among the 150,000 people who celebrated Vaisakhi Saturday.