This year, IMAAD is celebrating Eid with the entire family in mind. EidFest 2004 is about a bit of fun for everyone. Face painting, cookie decorating, henna art, bouncy castle, art n’ craft, stories & songs, quiz contest with prizes plus Eid gifts for all the kids – there will be plenty to keep children busy all day long! But we haven’t forgotten the adults either – apart from the chance to meet up with old friends and make some new ones, there will be lots of great food to keep everyone satisfied.

So come along and let’s all celebrate Eid together, as a community!

ADMISSION: Adults £3.50; Children (under 10) £1
DATE: Sunday 21st November 2004
TIME: 2 – 5 PM
VENUE: Maiden Place Community Centre, Maiden Place, off Kilnsea Drive, Lower Earley, Reading RG6 3HE

Event Review
EidFest was celebrated the weekend after Eid, and brought in approximately 230 people, from Reading, Slough, Bracknell, Calcot and Oxford. The idea behind this event was to make Eid as fun and magical a celebration as it is in many Muslim countries, and to give children something to really look forward to every year; it was organized as a family event, with special attention given to children’s entertainment. It took place at the Maiden Place Community Centre, where we had hired one hall for food, prayers, and seating, and the other, larger hall was dedicated to the various stalls and entertainment.

EidFest 2004 was covered by Reading 107 FM, as well as the Evening Post and the Reading Chronicle.

There was a bouncy castle, which predictably was very popular, but all the other stalls also had queues well into the evening. There was a henna art stall, an art & craft stall, tile art, face painting, cookie decorating, a clothes and jewelry stall, and a scarves & shawls stall too. There was a dedicated fun corner for Pictionary, and a quiz contest for children, for which 3 prizes – two of them donated by local businesses – were given out at the end. All the children also received goody bags as they left.

The food was buffet style, most of it home-made by many hardworking members of the community. The rest of it was donated by generous Muslim shop owners in the spirit of Ramadan and Eid. There was also a dedicated prayer area and both Asr and Maghrib prayers were prayed in congregation.

With so many people coming together to organize the EidFest, this was truly a community event, by the community and for the community. Everyone who came had only praise for the way it was organized, for the variety of tasty food, as well as the relaxed atmosphere, with kids of all ages enjoying themselves.

InshaAllah, with the kind of feedback we have received, we aim to make the EidFest an annual event, including even more stalls and activities to engage people of every age group; we hope the community will once again support us with kind donations and cooperation.

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