Grand `Eid Celebration Planned for Toronto

A grand `Eid extravaganza is being planned by the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) for the 300,000-strong Muslim community of Toronto. The day being promoted as the ultimate celebration for children, family, and friends features a wide range of activities including competitions, clowns, arts and crafts, and loot bags for children, rock/wall climbing, basketball tournaments as well as X-box and Gamecube games tournaments, a gyroscope, a 32-foot super slide, paintball gallery, bouncing castles, and much more.

“We wanted to design an `Eid celebration that would be enjoyed by everyone regardless of age,” said Ahmad Attia, the coordinator of the games and entertainment committee. The day will be further punctuated by a variety of shows, movies, a petting zoo, a huge bazaar, and multiple draws for prizes throughout the day including a 42-inch plasma TV and IPODs among other prizes.

“There is so much negativity in the media and suffering throughout our Ummah right now, so we wanted to provide a day of celebration for our community as a way to remember all the good things which we have been blessed with and to thank Allah for them” commented Mourad M’hiri, the head of the MAC Toronto chapter. “We are encouraging everyone to come and bring their families and let us enjoy the day together,” he remarked.

In the true spirit of `Eid, MAC is encouraging all attendees to bring canned food for a canned-food drive. All food will be donated to the Daily Bread Food Bank of Toronto which assists upwards of 175,000 people in the Toronto area each month. Baker, the overall coordinator of the `Eid celebrations, noted that this “is a part of our duty as Muslims and as citizens here in Toronto.”

The `Eid prayer is scheduled for Thursday, November 3 or Friday, November 4, depending on the sighting of the moon. The prayer will commence at 10:00 a.m. The `Eid party will begin right after the prayer. Organizers are still accepting volunteers and are encouraging anyone willing to help with the `Eid party to contact them via the Web site. For more information visit http://www.gtaeid.com/ 

Jeewan Chanicka of Canada has been involved in working with youth, education, and social services for the past 15 years. He graduated with his BA with honors in individualized studies at York University with a focus on conflict resolution and culturally appropriate forms of mediation, and completed his BEd at the University of Toronto. He also studied Arabic at Al-Diwan Institute in Cairo, Egypt. He is currently pursuing his master's degree in education at York University. His focus has been working with at-risk youth both in and out of the school system.