The Hindu Community in Halton &Hamilton (HCHH) organized its 4th annual Kawad Yatra on 6th August 2022.

Kawad Yatra is the annual pilgrimage of devotees of Shiva, known as Kawariyas, to the Hindu pilgrimage places of Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri and Sultanganj in India to get the holy waters of the Ganges River. HCHH started their Yatra (parade) from Milton and walked to the Vaishno Devi Temple in Oakville. 

Nearly 100 devotees participated in the Yatra (parade) with the desire to seek the blessings of Lord Shiva. 

Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Milton chapter and the Islamic Community Centre of Milton (ICCM) arranged a BBQ event for the Milton community on July 31, 2022 at 8069 Esquesing Line in Milton. Various food items were offered free of charge for adults, like BBQ, burgers, BBQ chicken, and drinks. Whereas kids enjoyed hotdog sandwiches, cotton candy, popcorn, drinks, juices, and multiple inflatable rides in the nice weather. Besides that, there were different stalls setup for attendees to purchase items of their interest, like clothes, jewelry, arts and crafts, paintings, etc.

Step Up To The Plate 5 by the Dads of Milton (DOM) took part at the Lion’s Park in Milton last month. The annual fundraiser chose Nelson the Giant this year, which aims to reduce bullying by building awareness and educating our youth. Founded by Sandy Gemmill, Nelson the Giant is also the focus of a movie in development which aims to spread the message of anti-bullying to students and children across Canada. The event featured a home run derby and also had delicious eats donated by East Side Marios.

“It was great to see people from all over town get together for an afternoon of fun and laughter.” said Sandeep Sambhi, DoM spokesperson for the event.

The Muslim Association of Milton (MAM) held another successful Annual Community BBQ in August with the purpose to bring the entire Milton community together. This year the BBQ raised funds for both Milton District Hospital Foundation as well as Oakville Hospital. The Annual BBQ opened its door to the entire community giving everyone a chance to attend and enjoy their day. It was a free entry event with a ton of activities for people to take part in such as a Bar-B-Que, toy and clothing stalls, face painting, Fire Truck and more.

A record $110,000 was raised at the 7th annual ‘TEEING OFF for a MIRACLE’ in support of charity. The Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation’s (TJSF) charity golf tournament sold out five days!

“I am overcome with so many different emotions right now that it’s hard to explain what the journey was like in bringing back this event after Covid shut all of our live charity events over the past couple of years”, says Tiger Jeet Singh Jr., President of TJSF. “I would never have expected the out pour of support that we received from sponsors and players. My heart goes out to every individual that came together in making this year’s event a tremendous success!”

In July Milton’s own Superstarr Liam along with many other Superstarr’s and Superhero’s hosted a fundraising event for Sick Kids Foundation at the Milton Community Park. The weather was fantastic and the event was attended by hundreds of friends, supporters and community members. Free volunteer lunches were generously donated by Milton’s East Side Mario’s restaurant (Thanks to Zain Raza and Jordan Bassett)

Milton is a place of possibilities but sometimes the wheels of bureaucracy and zoning can interfere with entrepreneurship and job creation. That’s why local Milton Councillor Rick Di Lorenzo brought forth a proposal to Milton Council for Town Staff to bring forth a home business program pilot project in our town. Milton’s current bylaws are highly restrictive on home businesses and don’t take into consideration some of the small micro-businesses that many families could start from their homes.

Milton held a well-planned and highly attended Eid Gala this year with vendors, food stalls, Henna artists and much more. The event was organized by Event Ontario and was held on July 7 in Milton and was a joy for all who attended. We had more than 40 vendors present their products to more than 2000 visitors who showed up to do their last-minute shopping. Event Ontario has been organizing and managing EID Gala for more than 10 years in Milton, and we have started planning already for the next year.

Everyone knows that the numeric 0, Ayurveda, and yoga come from India. The religions of Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism also originate from here. But did you know the popular game – shoots and ladder, was created in India? This game was designed to teach morals and lessons on Karma to children. There were a lot of hidden gems that we discovered about India during the first-ever India Heritage Day during Asian Heritage Month.

The Milton Public Library and the Canadian Indian Association of Halton Region (CIA) collaborated to showcase the vibrancy of Canadian Indians in our town. While talking to the CIA President, Mr. Jagmohan Mainra, he said, “We are so happy to get the opportunity to share our culture with the town. Canada and India are pretty similar as we both have a rich diversity that we share. I want to thank MPL and Erin for the opportunity. Erin Auger, the Manager of MPL, was instrumental in making this happen.”