Festival recap · Surrey · Vancouver · Sep 12, 2026
Sikhlens Canada Came Back to Surrey-Vancouver. Here's the Recap
On Saturday, September 12, 2026, Sikhlens Canada held its West Coast day in Surrey. Free, RSVP’d, and full from late morning into the evening at the Prospera Credit Union Theatre at SFU Surrey.
We call this stop Surrey-Vancouver, not Vancouver alone. The day ran from late morning into the evening. This note looks back at what happened. The event page is here: Sikhlens Canada 2026: West Coast (Surrey).
Who filled the theatre?
Families came. Filmmakers came. Friends came together. They sat in one theatre and shared the same day.
The address is simple: 13450 102 Ave #250, Surrey, BC. That is where Sharing Sikh Stories lived that Saturday on the West Coast.
People chose to show up for Sikh stories in a real room. That is how a festival day begins.
September is Sikhlens Canada Month. The West Coast stop came first in this pair of free days. Brampton on the East Coast came later the same month.
What people saw and heard
The morning was for kids and families. People saw Cosmic Drama and Cosmic Drama Arti. They also saw Khalsa Centre. There was a book reading (Proud to be a Kaur / Singh) and a puppet activity too.
The first afternoon block looked at hope and care for self and community. Seva Singh shared the poem “Ardas.” People watched Nanak Chinta Mat Karo, Amrita Kaur: A Magical Voice, Mitti, and Water Warriors.
Bhai Mardana School of Music shared a song. The block also included Harmony of Healing, I Run While Talking to God, Reviving Roots, and Apna Farz.
The second afternoon block looked at Sikhs around the world. People watched Sikh Heritage in Iran, Guru Nanak Matth, Jutti Kasoori, and Sacred Threads in Lima.
That block also included Roots and Deportation 700. There was a Q&A with the Sikhlens founder and artists.
Live theatre closed the day. People watched The Amber Grey Sky. Sarabjeet Arora wrote and directed it. Taran Bamrah performed it.
The play is based on true events from November 1984. It honors people who were lost. It also shows how survivors kept going. It tells of a Canadian family whose world changed in that time.
Arora has said that silence is not peace. It can be another kind of dark. A stage makes a room sit with that truth.
More Sikhlens films live in the film directory.
Books, art, and big news
The day was not only films and a play. Books and art sat beside the screen. New work was named out loud. Young makers talked about what they might make next.
Sikhlens Publications launched Kuldip Singh Bhogal’s autobiography, The Legend of 1972: Life, Hockey and Beyond. Kuldip was there in person. The book keeps his path from Uganda to the 1972 Munich Olympics, and his life across many lands.
Sikhlens also showed its other books, including Proud to Be a Singh and Proud to Be a Kaur. The team shared that those children’s books will now become animated films.
New Canadian stories ahead
The day also named new Sikhlens-supported Canadian documentaries.
One will tell the story of Baltej Singh Dhillon. His path holds immigration, Sikh identity, and public service. It includes the landmark moment when he could serve in the RCMP while wearing his turban. It also reaches across three decades of policing, community leadership, and service that continues.
Another project is a Sikhlens Community Voices film on Vaapsi Recovery Home. It will be a human-centered story about addiction and recovery in the Punjabi and Sikh community. It looks at stigma, and at how dignity, Sangat, Seva, professional care, families, and community can help people rebuild their lives.
The Sikh Motorcycle Club documentary was named too. It joins this next group of Canadian stories.
Next storytellers in the room
Around the books and art displays, young artists and filmmakers stayed to talk. They asked how to share film ideas. They asked about Sikhlens-supported projects and grants. They asked how to become future Sikhlens Global Calendar artists, and how to join publishing and other creative work.
That talk matters. These festival days do not only show finished work. They also help find and lift the next storytellers.
The team also filmed several Canadian Sikh artists and community voices during the weekend for future Sikhlens projects.
Talk after the show
People did not all rush out. Filmmakers stayed. The Sikhlens team stayed.
Guests asked questions. They talked in the lobby. That talk was part of the day, not something extra.
Thank you for this day
Thank you to our sponsors and partners, to every artist, filmmaker, and volunteer who helped the day run, and to everyone who came to Prospera Credit Union Theatre on September 12. Sarabjeet Arora and Taran Bamrah brought The Amber Grey Sky. Artists put work on stage and on screen.
Thank you to the Sikhlens Canada team, to Sandip Sodhi for helping hold the West Coast day, and to everyone who brought family, friends, and someone new to Sikhlens. Your support gives us a strong base to build a larger Surrey-Vancouver festival next year.
The stories keep going
Sikhlens shares Sikh stories through films, theatre, books, art, and days like this one. The Surrey-Vancouver stop was one free Saturday in that work.
It held hard history and soft moments in the same building. It held launches, new film plans, and talks with new makers. Young listeners and older ones shared the space.
A good festival day does more than fill seats. It gives people a place to sit with Sikh stories together.
You can find more of the films and festival work on sikhlens.ca, the Surrey event page, and the film directory. The stories did not end when the lights came up.