New Naperville Halal Festival to spotlight cultural heritage, cuisine and arts of city’s Muslim community
The inaugural Naperville Halal Festival slated for Aug. 5 will showcase the cultural heritage, cuisine and the arts of the city’s diverse Muslim community.
A free, family-friendly event, the fest will run from noon to 8 p.m. in Frontier Park on the city’s south side.
Organizer and Naperville resident Shafeek Abubaker said the term halal generally is associated with food, particularly in the way meat is processed and prepared for the Islamic faith.
But in a broader sense, Abubaker said, halal is a way of living, and that will be reflected in the festival.
People of all faiths and backgrounds are encouraged to attend, he said, and take in the vibrant and diverse Muslim lifestyles of Naperville residents and those in the Chicago area.
The festival aims to foster community unity and promote interfaith dialogue by providing a space for people from diverse backgrounds to come together, share experiences, and build bridges of understanding and respect.
It’s also an opportunity to immerse in the vibrant tapestry of Muslim culture from around the world and gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of its contributions to Naperville, he said.
His goal, Abubaker said, is not to bring in Muslim people from Chicago, but to make the festival all about the people from Naperville and nearby communities, all walks of life and different races and ethnicities, “coming and enjoying and getting to know each other so that we can demystify some of the some of these preconceptions we people have.”
As president of the Illinois Muslim Chamber of Commerce, he said he wants to use the festival to promote Muslim businesses and industries and to increase entrepreneurship within the community by supporting small businesses.
The Halal Festival will have the typical summer fair trappings — food, business vendors and entertainment — with one exception: no beer or alcohol will be sold.
As far as cuisine, Abubaker said there will be an abundance of halal culinary options, including American food.
“There’s a good number of people who are born and brought up here (in the United States) whose taste buds are not the same as mine back in India or Pakistan,” Abubaker said.
Anyone can grab a burger prepared in halal tradition that’s not going to taste any different. “It’s a good way to integrate and connect between different communities in a fun way,” he said.
Setting up the first Halal Festival in Naperville made sense, Abubaker said, because of his connections in the city as a Naperville small business owner, a member of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce and a board member with Naperville Citizens Appreciate Public Safety.
Because Muslims come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, performances will spotlight different cultures. Abubaker said he is working to bring in groups like a Palestinian dance troupe and Turkish instrumentalists.
The event also will feature activities such as face-painting and storytelling sessions for the kids and opportunities for adults to socialize, shop and visit booths to learn about various aspects of Islamic culture.
The hardest part of the planning process, Abubaker said, has been getting vendors and sponsors to commit to participating because he has no previous attendance numbers.
To help get the inaugural event off the ground, the city granted the Muslim chamber $11,000 in seed money through the Special Events and Community Arts fund program.
Abubaker said he hopes to build off this year’s success and make next year even bigger. He is committed to making the Naperville Halal Festival a yearly event.
“It’s going to take a couple of years to pick up,” he said. “I’ve already submitted the paperwork for next year, so we are expecting to continue this. The date may change; we haven’t finalized it. But we will be doing it annually.”
There’s also a possibility of expanding into other communities like Aurora, which reached out to him about hosting something similar there, he said.
For more information about the Naperville Halal Festival, including sponsorship opportunities, go to https://tinyurl.com/npvlhf or contact the team at halalfest@ilmchamber.org.
