Breaking the mold is part of the Bay Area’s DNA, and that tradition will be furthered later this summer, when with California’s first festival dedicated to halal food.
The Halal Food Festival is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 17, in the NewPark Mall main parking lot, between Sears and Macy’s.
Halal food includes meat that is blessed and prepared in a way considered pure and lawful for Muslims to consume, said Wasi Imam, one of the festival’s organizers.
“It’s going to be a great, big cultural event -- something that has not happened before in Newark or the Bay Area,” said Imam, whose accounting business is across the street from the festival’s location. “People from all faiths are invited.”
The festival’s choice of dishes will be diverse, and organizers are reaching out to various types of local restaurants, asking them to serve their favorite dishes but with halal meat, Imam said.
“The only difference between the festival’s food and restaurants’ food is the type of meat available,” he said.
The festival will offer live cooking demonstrations and will feature vendor booths with clothes and artwork, as well as rides for kids such as merry-go-rounds.
What may sound like a small niche event will be anything but, as more than 700 people already have sent an RSVP on the event’s Facebook page.
“It will be the first festival of its kind in California,” said Moina Shaiq, of Fremont, who is member of the Alameda Human Relations Commission. “It will give Muslims some exposure in the community and it’s a chance for people from different faiths to get to know one another.”
Shaiq added: “That always brings better understanding, people knowing each other.”
If all goes well, the festival organizers see the Halal Food Festival becoming an annual affair.
“We want this to be a joyous occasion,” Imam said.
For more information, go online at halalfest.com.