A PUBLIC Eid Festival will be held in Glasgow to celebrate the end of Ramadan.
Eid Festival 2024 will take place in Queen’s Park next week to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of fasting.
Ali Salim, director of Joy Events, says he decided to organise the event to fulfil a need in the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community.
From his research, he believes this will be the first public Eid Festival to be held in Scotland since 2007 or 2008.
He said: "For many of the families that are away from their home countries, it’s one of the remarkable events in our lives after a whole month of fasting.
"Hopefully from now on there will be more activities and festivals targeting families."
Ali, who has lived in Scotland for more than 10 years, says at the moment there is nothing to bring families together to celebrate Eid.
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The event will be filled with cultural performances and activities for all ages including Wee Olympics, Palestinian Dabke and a Henna and face painting gazebo, with people from all backgrounds welcome to attend.
Ali, 38, said: "It’s so important for lots of reasons.
"Most of us have chosen Scotland as our home and we’ve been living here for decades, and our kids have been born here. It’s important to feel connected to the community.
"Everyone is welcome from different backgrounds, from different cultures, and we need that for the community, we need that for society to get to celebrate together and exchange culture and knowledge."
The festival, which is free to attend, has proved to be a popular idea with the first wave of tickets on Eventbrite being reserved within seven hours.
Ali and his wife Farah Deeb have two children aged two and four.
Farah, who has lived in Scotland since 2018, says she believes events such as this are important to create "cross-cultural understanding".
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She explained: "Back in our home countries the end of Ramadan is a joyous occasion filled with community gatherings, feasting and cultural festivities.
"But when we speak to people here no one has anything planned.
"So we said we need to create something.
"For us now we have two kids, we’re asking how do you bring this joy to your family, how do you bring them up in this environment where they will feel happy about Eid al-Fitr because it’s really meaningful."
The 35-year-old continued: "Events like these are essential to promote inclusivity and social cohesion, and to create cross-cultural understanding within our society.
"You don’t [want] people to feel excluded from society and you need these events to create [inclusivity].
"By celebrating cultural traditions together you’re breaking down barriers, you’re challenging stereotypes and you’re fostering a sense of belonging for all community members."
Eid Festival 2024 will take place in Queen’s Park from 10am to 5pm on Tuesday, April 9 and Wednesday, April 10.
You can find out more HERE.
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