City Muslims to mark Eid with carnival

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This article was published 22/06/2023 (1137 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bouncy castles, petting zoos, obstacle courses and fireworks will mark this year’s Eid Carnival, in which the city’s Muslims will celebrate two holy days.

“It’s a big, multicultural event,” said Flahet Mian of the Manitoba Islamic Association. “Everyone in Winnipeg is welcome to come out and celebrate with us.”

Appropriately, food will be the centrepiece.

“The food is really popular as well,” Mian said. “The food plays a central role in the carnival and all… there will be a range of diverse, delicious dishes” including kebabs, shawarma and biryani, as well as traditional western carnival food such as hamburgers.

“Eid” refers to the two holiest days in the Islamic calendar, whose full names are Eid-al-Fitr and Eid-al-Adha. Both holidays are observed according to the Islamic lunar calendar so the date they are celebrated varies each year.

Both are feast days. Eid-al-Fitr is held to celebrate the conclusion of fasting at the end of Ramadan and this year it fell from April 10 to April 11. Eid-al-Adha follows the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca, and commemorates the faith of the Prophet Abraham in God, and this year falls from June 28 to July 2.

Mian said that because of the timing of the two holidays on the Islamic lunar calendar, this year’s Eid Carnival, to be held Saturday at 2445 Waverley St., will celebrate both.

A big celebration at the conclusion of Eid is traditional throughout the Muslim world and the local association has had an annual Eid Carnival since 2011.

Sharooq Hasnain, another spokesperson for the association, says the carnival will be family-friendly. Other activities include gladiatorial jousting, a laser maze, velcro olympics and surfboard and amazing race competitions.

Forty-plus vendors will sell their wares — multicultural crafts, clothing and jewelry. Attendees can get a henna tattoo.

The event will take place from 4:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. and will wrap up with a large, 20-minute fireworks display at 10:30 p.m. Admission and parking are free.

Eight-thousand people attended last year’s carnival, the first since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Muslim community in Winnipeg has grown steadily. According to Statistics Canada, in 2021 it was 24,170, amounting to 3.3 per cent of the population. It has more than doubled since 2011, when there were 11,365 Muslims.

graham.mcdonald@freepress.mb.ca

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