Ottawa, Apr 11 (IANS): Although the coronavirus pandemic has led to the cancellation of the April 25 Vaisakhi parade in the Canadian city of Surrey, deemed the largest outside India, the community through a new initiative called 'Virtual Vaisakhi' will honour the sacred holidays spirit of 'seva', a media report said.

Through the initiative, a collective of Sikh groups, including a Surrey gurdwara, was invoking the spirit of Vaisakhi by raising money for community outreach organizations and nonprofits, said the Surrey Now-Leader newspaper in a report.

"This year, we are directly asking and inspiring Sikhs and non-Sikhs to collectively open their wallets and hearts to help invoke the spirit of Vaiskahi to address the most pressing and emerging needs with organizations working with local food banks, seniors outreach, marginalized communities and domestic support services," said Jessie Kaur Lehail of Kaur Project.

"Let's celebrate Vaisakhi by helping others."

Surrey is part of the Metro Vancouver area.

The Surrey Vaisakhi parade draws in a crowd of more than 500,000 people every year, reports the Vancouver-based City News.

Canada has so far reported 22,148 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 570 deaths.