Ontario Khalsa Darbar
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Ontario Khalsa Darbar is the largest and busiest Sikh gurdwara in North America. The gurdwara sits on 36 acres (146,000 m²) of land in the city of Mississauga. It is on the corner of Derry Road and Dixie Road.
It officially started in 1979 in a small trailer. Steadily more and more money was raised and land was purchased and a building was created in 1989. The opeing ceremony drew in large crowds and it took many hours to get in. During the 1990s more land was bought and an outdoor stadium was built. The gurdwara is the central gurdwara in the Greater Toronto Area so many many people come to it. In the mid to late 90's the old building was getting overcrowded so a 6 million dollar project was announced to build a large extension. Much money was raised however the building still gets overcrowded on special days like Diahwali (festival of lights) and Viasakhi and New Year (December 31). In 2001 the Nagar Kirtan (celebrates Viasakhi) had a crowd of near 100,000 people. Nagar Kirtans have happned, but not on the scale as the one in 2001. In 2003 the festival of lights drawed in a crowd of over 40,000 people. This is when the gurdwara got a lot of popularity. It has an atmosphere like if it is a major gurdwara in India. A new plan in 2004 was annocued to build a 3 million dollar parking lot. The gurdwara grows more and more every year as the Sikh community grows in Greater Toronto Area.
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