Tauranga’s Turban Day this weekend invites locals to experience the vibrant traditions of Sikh culture – and even try on a turban themselves.

From 11am-2.30pm on Saturday, November 8, the Tauranga Waterfront will be transformed into a lively cultural hub celebrating diversity, inclusion, and community connection.

Visitors can learn how to tie a turban, discover the meaning behind it, enjoy live music, and sample freshly prepared vegetarian food.

“It’s run by Gurudwara Sikh Sangat with the Bay of Plenty Sports & Culture Club, and Tauranga Sikh Sangat,” Ranjit Singh said. “We’re grateful to Tauranga City Council, the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, and the Western Bay of Plenty District Council for their support. Everyone is welcome.”

The dastar

Turban Day offers a hands-on opportunity to explore the significance of the dastar — the Sikh turban — which holds deep spiritual and cultural meaning. Participants can choose from an array of five-metre turbans in vibrant colours, with experts on hand to demonstrate how to tie them, a process that typically takes five to 10 minutes.

Baljinder Singh and Ranjit Singh said visitors can learn how to tie a turban, discover the meaning behind it, enjoy live music, and sample freshly prepared vegetarian food at Turban Day on the Tauranga Waterfront on Saturday. Photo / Rosalie Liddle Crawford

“The turban sets us apart,” Gurudwara Sikh Sangat Tauranga president Puran Singh said. “In Sikh culture, we’re taught to help those in need, show kindness, and uphold strong moral values. When you see a turban, you see those principles in action.”

The Sikh community in New Zealand hopes events like this foster understanding and appreciation of Sikhism’s core belief in equality.

Beauty and symbolism

Turban Day began in New York as a grassroots effort to share the beauty and symbolism of the turban. The event gained global attention in 2018 when more than 9000 turbans were tied in Times Square – a world record. Since then, it has become a celebrated annual tradition in many countries, including New Zealand, where Auckland hosted its first Turban Day in 2016. Tauranga’s celebration began two years later and returns this weekend.

Faith

For sikhs, wearing a turban is part of religious observance tied to the five articles of faith: uncut hair (kesh), a wooden comb (kanga), an iron bracelet (kara), cotton undergarments (kachera), and a small, curved sword (kirpan). Each represents a commitment to living with integrity, discipline, and devotion.

The November 8 event will also feature free, freshly cooked vegetarian meals prepared by volunteers from the local Gurdwara in Burrows St, in keeping with the Sikh tradition of langar — a shared community meal open to all.

All welcome

“We cherish the act of sharing food,” Puran said. “While we usually serve free meals at the temple, we’re excited to bring that spirit to the waterfront. Everyone is welcome to come, learn, and try on a turban.”